From: owner-the-edge-digest@ (The Edge Digested) To: the-edge-digest@robin-nvh.bvsd.k12.co.us Subject: The Edge Digested V1 #89 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 Tuesday, July 28 1998 Volume 01 : Number 089 Today's subjects from The Edge: [The Edge] RE: the deathless Re: [The Edge] New Cards Re: [The Edge] New Cards Re: [The Edge] RE: Nihilism deck? Re: [The Edge] New Cards [The Edge] =?iso-8859-1?Q?=5bThe Edge=5d RE: Gen Con?= [The Edge] terror vs fury [The Edge] amok sideways? Re: [The Edge] Q about Kalev Maran Re: [The Edge] Q about Kalev Maran Re: [The Edge] RE: the deathless Re: [The Edge] New Cards Re: [The Edge] Re: Gencon Re: [The Edge] New Cards Re: [The Edge] amok sideways? Re: [The Edge] terror vs fury Re: [The Edge] New Cards Re: [The Edge] New Cards Re: [The Edge] amok sideways? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 07:33:46 -0400 From: "Brandon Blackmoor" Subject: [The Edge] RE: the deathless I thought this question about my Edge of Space game might be of interest to someone in addition to myself: > From: Alexander P. Fitzhugh [mailto:fnork_de_sporg@comet.net] > Subject: the deathless > > what's up with the deathless? What are they? Who are they? Why do > they have such weird names? Why are they only mentioned in the > timeline, but are mentioned in the time lime a whole lot? If they're > deathless how can they die? Do they actually have any impact or > signifigance in the game at all? Just wondering. Deathless are (or were) one of the (many) Great Experiments undertaken by the Old Imperium. In most respects, they were normal Humans (or at least humanoid -- the Imperium was and is very humanocentric). For simplicity's sake they were akin to X-Men style mutants: each had a specific, but potentially earth-shaking power (potentially -- most were not so earth-shaking, although some were quite arcane). The only powers that all Deathless had in common was that they stopped aging and ceased to be dependent on food, sleep, etc. -- although lack of these will weaken them considerably, it won't kill them (thus the appellation). It is part of the game background that the Deathless vanished or were killed off many years ago, under mysterious circumstances. You may have noticed that a great deal in the timeline has to do with things happening under mysterious circumstances. It was my hope that the players would clue into some of this mystery and use it to create their characters, or at least tie into it somehow. However, I am having problems in that area. One would-be player has complained that the setting is "too open-ended" and he doesn't know what kind of character he should make up (although I gave at least a dozen examples in the character generation section). Another player just sent me e-mail suggesting that all the players have the same conception, for "group unity"; the examples he gave were a) members of a space ship crew that crashes on Al Amarja, b) members of one of the galaxy's many secret organizations, and c) members of the Al Amarjan Peace Force. All of which makes me want to slash my proverbial wrists. So I may be rethinking the setting, or the game, or the players, or all three. (I apologize if you received this twice: I have cross-posted to both the Over the Edge and the Alarums & Excursions mailing lists.) ======================================= Brandon Blackmoor Someone in the USA is arrested every Black Gate Publishing 54 seconds for a marijuana offense. ==================================== [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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 11:04:59 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] New Cards On Fri, 24 Jul 1998 bildon@ma.ultranet.com wrote: > name: Schizophrenic Deja Vu > type: Wham > cost: -` (bulleted) > traits: Throckmorton, Sub-Random, Chaos > card reads: this card can only be played if player has Throckmorton > Device in play. starting with the player who played this card and then > moving to his/her left, each player in turn may put a different version > of a char into play. the new version is placed on top of the current > char. if the char is in an opponents conspiracy it is then moved to the > players conspiracy (active). this proceedure can be performed more than > once during your turn to play. performing this action for the third time > on any char pops it. whoa! too complicated. :) instead, you want something like this; Double Agent Madness, Whammy, -' Cloak, Chaos Each player may discard a copy of a character already in play to take control of that character. Move the controlled character to that players Conspiracy, cranked. The character gains trait Double Agent (use a token if necessary). the basic idea you had is very interesting. but it doesnt seem to have anything to do with Throckmortons and may make more sense as a cloak action. and chaos. :) remember, when playing an action in OnTE the current player has the option of going first and it follows clockwise from there. > name: Hard Blow to the Head. > type: wham > cost: - > traits: none > card reads: play this wham to remove the top version of a char changed > by a Skchiz Deja Vu. the char now showing returns to it's owners > conspiracy cranked. again, pretty good idea, but how about this; Identity Revealed, Whammy, - Cloak Pop any Double Agent. Play any time. this pair seems to accomplish the same thing and the rules are a bit easier to follow. as a pair, these cards are interesting and would certainly deserve some playtest time... simply take a common card, write on the front with permanent marker the new name, and keep a handy sheet with these rules for reference. 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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 09:35:22 -0700 From: Alex Rodriguez Subject: Re: [The Edge] New Cards Eric Jome wrote: > Double Agent Madness, Whammy, -' > Cloak, Chaos > Each player may discard a copy of a character already in play > to take control of that character. Move the controlled character > to that players Conspiracy, cranked. The character gains trait > Double Agent (use a token if necessary). how about making this an Environmental? That would make it more fun since then everyone could participate and add to the "chaos" + it would add strategy in keeping a duplicate card in hand for "disipline" purposes. Now, did you intend to have this effect only last untill the end of turn? - -- I'm not entirely evil, just a wholly owned subsidiary thereof. [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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 09:38:34 -0700 (PDT) From: Yanni Cooper Subject: Re: [The Edge] RE: Nihilism deck? - ---"R. Lightner" wrote: > Oh yeah - in keeping with the nihilistic theme, I fantasized about an > ENORMOUS (~100 card) deck that focused on stealing/eliminating pull with > Consuela Herrera, Andalusia Dog, etc., while constantly upping the ante > with Unattainable Desires until everybody else ran out of cards, or just a > big deck focused on keeping Message to Space in play until you're the only > one left. But I like my friends and want to keep playing with them, and > their tolerance has limits. I did this with a low-lives deck, but it's definatly not very succesful in any incarnation. UD is just too slow to make people run out of cards.... can be fun trying though. And most poeple enjoy slaughtering low-lives. ===============Yanni Cooper=\ Chaos reigns within. | Reflect, repent, and reboot. The code was willing, | Order shall return. It considered your request, | But the chips were weak. \=aslum@rocketmail.com======== _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com [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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 13:38:07 -0400 (EDT) From: David Freier Subject: Re: [The Edge] New Cards > > Eric Jome wrote: > > > Double Agent Madness, Whammy, -' > > Cloak, Chaos > > Each player may discard a copy of a character already in play > > to take control of that character. Move the controlled character > > to that players Conspiracy, cranked. The character gains trait > > Double Agent (use a token if necessary). > > how about making this an Environmental? That would make it more fun > since then everyone could participate and add to the "chaos" + it would > add strategy in keeping a duplicate card in hand for "disipline" > purposes. > > Now, did you intend to have this effect only last untill the end of > turn? > Aggh! No. An Environmental would be truly Chaotic! ;) It would probably be fun to play with, but characters would never stay put and you would or should probably add a clause which would indicate that you could only turn Double Agent if you had a character that could attack the target of Double Agent. All in All making it an environmental would be way to messy, IMHO. With it in Whammy form everyone who wanted them could use them if necessary and the effect is more balanced. David Freier [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: 27 Jul 98 10:54 GMT From: FRANK M ADAMS Subject: [The Edge] =?iso-8859-1?Q?=5bThe Edge=5d RE: Gen Con?= Hi all, Two quick questions: 1. I'm not getting to Gen Con until early Friday morning, will I need to check in first (before 8:00am / would I even be able to?) before showing up for the OnTE tournament? 2. I got hosed on events! Received my book late and even though I signed up for 14 events/alternates (including the OTE game - I forget the name) I only got into 1 (!!!!) event (one of the reasons I'm not coming until Friday). Now stuck with 13 generic tickets, which I'll wind up turning in, I'm looking for stuff to do. Are there any people on this list that are going to be running casual (or Unregistered) sessions (OTE, CoC, AD&D) or something. I'd love to play in an OTE game, since I can't seem to generate any interest in my regular group. Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions/etc. Hopefully, Frank frank.m.adams@slchicago.infonet.com [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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 10:56:37 -0700 From: Alex Rodriguez Subject: [The Edge] terror vs fury if a character is terrorized can it be furied? - -- I'm not entirely evil, just a wholly owned subsidiary thereof. [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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 11:02:53 -0700 From: Alex Rodriguez Subject: [The Edge] amok sideways? if there are only two character in play and they are in the same consiracy side by side, does the Amoked character have to attack the other? - -- I'm not entirely evil, just a wholly owned subsidiary thereof. [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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 13:17:33 -0500 (CDT) From: Clay Colwell Subject: Re: [The Edge] Q about Kalev Maran On Fri, 24 Jul 1998 bildon@ma.ultranet.com wrote: > how does this card work? Basic premise: this dude allows any LowLife to Gang Up with him for an attack. Now, normally the defender gets to choose which attackers in the Gang Up get Popped. (Presumably, if the defender feared Maran's continued ability to get LowLifes to Gang Up with him, then Maran would be the first to go [if Maran could Pop the defending Character on his own, most likely he wouldn't need friends to Gang Up].) What makes Maran special is that the defender's choice is now limited by what the attacker does: the attacker gets the option to "prePop" any LowLife that Ganged Up, and the AP of the LowLife comes off the total AP amount that the defender gets to Pop. This gives the attacker a chance to keep Maran around for more Gang Up fun. Example: Kalev Maran (3/4/-) attacks Hank Henderson (1/4/1). Normally, Maran would be Popped. (3 AP < 4 DP) However, Maran gets Zipper (3/1/-) to Gang Up with him. Thus, Henderson gets Popped instead. ([3+3] AP > 4 DP) Normally, the defending player then gets to choose which Characters that attacked (up to a total of 4 AP) get Popped. Defending player is itching to get Maran out of the picture, but attacking player chooses to "prePop" Zipper. After this, the defending player can only Pop up to 1 AP's worth of other attackers. (4 AP - Zipper's 3 AP --> 1 AP left for Popping purposes.) Since Maran's AP > 1, this "prePop" protects Maran from being Popped by the defending player, and he stays alive to pull his Gang Up shenanigans later. (Note the color text on Maran's card, about how his allies rarely survive. :-) ****** Clay Colwell (aka StealthSmurf) ********** eris@bga.com ****** * "In the future, we will recognize software crashes as technologically * * mandated ergonomic rest breaks - and we will pay extra for them." * * -- Crazy Uncle Joe Hannibal * [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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 13:17:33 -0500 (CDT) From: Clay Colwell Subject: Re: [The Edge] Q about Kalev Maran On Fri, 24 Jul 1998 bildon@ma.ultranet.com wrote: > how does this card work? Basic premise: this dude allows any LowLife to Gang Up with him for an attack. Now, normally the defender gets to choose which attackers in the Gang Up get Popped. (Presumably, if the defender feared Maran's continued ability to get LowLifes to Gang Up with him, then Maran would be the first to go [if Maran could Pop the defending Character on his own, most likely he wouldn't need friends to Gang Up].) What makes Maran special is that the defender's choice is now limited by what the attacker does: the attacker gets the option to "prePop" any LowLife that Ganged Up, and the AP of the LowLife comes off the total AP amount that the defender gets to Pop. This gives the attacker a chance to keep Maran around for more Gang Up fun. Example: Kalev Maran (3/4/-) attacks Hank Henderson (1/4/1). Normally, Maran would be Popped. (3 AP < 4 DP) However, Maran gets Zipper (3/1/-) to Gang Up with him. Thus, Henderson gets Popped instead. ([3+3] AP > 4 DP) Normally, the defending player then gets to choose which Characters that attacked (up to a total of 4 AP) get Popped. Defending player is itching to get Maran out of the picture, but attacking player chooses to "prePop" Zipper. After this, the defending player can only Pop up to 1 AP's worth of other attackers. (4 AP - Zipper's 3 AP --> 1 AP left for Popping purposes.) Since Maran's AP > 1, this "prePop" protects Maran from being Popped by the defending player, and he stays alive to pull his Gang Up shenanigans later. (Note the color text on Maran's card, about how his allies rarely survive. :-) ****** Clay Colwell (aka StealthSmurf) ********** eris@bga.com ****** * "In the future, we will recognize software crashes as technologically * * mandated ergonomic rest breaks - and we will pay extra for them." * * -- Crazy Uncle Joe Hannibal * [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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 14:32:33 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] RE: the deathless On Mon, 27 Jul 1998, Brandon Blackmoor wrote: > It was my hope that the players would clue into > some of this mystery and use it to create their characters, or at least tie > into it somehow. However, I am having problems in that area. those darn players... always fouling up the best laid plans. :) normally, i am a very attentive game master, seeking to maximize player enjoyment by catering to their intent as well as the letter of their actions. but if there is one RPG where i actively court bad kharma, its OTE (and i think this variant applies). i have run some very open ended games and had the same complaints. the best way to solve them is to politely ask the players what they have questions about and being filling in details to suit them. this is the nice method. the "less nice" method is to jsut tell them to leave it blank for now and start playing. this is a great deal more work and much more dangerous for players... fill-in-as-you-go means the game master can write (and rewrite) characters and history at will. of the two, i recommend the first. if they arent picking up on what you had intended, try filling in the parts they need. or give them the ultimate fill-in; tell them what you want them to do. - ----- "we all have to be of the same mind." - if there is one gross holdover from Fantasy RPGs its this. Alignments are a pain in the butt. again, nice or naughty. nice, try to go with their joint venture. naughty, throw lots of wrenches in. make them compete during the game for the favors of patrons, the best treasures, or enough air to go on living. instead of a campaign as a way to forge unity, start with unity and forge chaos. this takes a delicate touch and is not for juvenile players... 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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 15:11:26 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] New Cards On Mon, 27 Jul 1998, Alex Rodriguez wrote: > how about making this an Environmental? That would make it more fun > since then everyone could participate and add to the "chaos" + it would > add strategy in keeping a duplicate card in hand for "disipline" > purposes. hmmm. this might work. it should not be bulleted if it is an environmental, but it should cost at least 3, probably 4 (or have all traits removed). everyone could participate as it was written, but it was a one shot deal, either you have it or you dont. you proposal might work better... this way prevents a person from hiding it in hand until necessary. either way, the difficulty lies in uniqueness... this seems to subvert uniqueness by allowing you to "call" a person easily. so its important that they come over cranked and that you lose your copy in hand. including a counter card (ie Identity Revealed) which hoses Double Agent is protection against over abuse. > Now, did you intend to have this effect only last untill the end of > turn? no way! you get him and you keep him. 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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 15:17:56 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] Re: Gencon On 27 Jul 1998, FRANK M ADAMS wrote: > 1. I'm not getting to Gen Con until early Friday morning, will I need > to check in first (before 8:00am / would I even be able to?) before > showing up for the OnTE tournament? you mean you didnt pre-reg it?! oh-my-god-yer-screwed. ok, ok, thats a big lie. you could walk up without any ticket 10 minutes into the actual event and Jeff would probably still let you play. just show up at the event on time with a generic ticket and your as good as gold... 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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 15:22:11 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] New Cards On Mon, 27 Jul 1998, David Freier wrote: > Aggh! No. An Environmental would be truly Chaotic! ;) the true intent shines through... rare in a ccg. :) > It would probably be fun to play with, but characters would never stay > put actually, i bet you would see it used very rarely. remember, you have to know an enemy will bring the same people you have in your deck to make it worthwhile... and then they can steal em right back. :) really, what i see this doing is hosing one hit wonders. people showing up to tournaments with nothing but pharaohs will spend their entire game stealing them from each other... and every time you steal, you are cranked, so its not like they get any use out of them. > and you would or should probably add a clause which would indicate > that you could only turn Double Agent if you had a character that could > attack the target of Double Agent. no way. that is too powerful. now you can swipe a guy and protect him. bad news... and you cant swipe "cant attack" people. bad news again. > All in All making it an environmental > would be way to messy, IMHO. With it in Whammy form everyone who wanted > them could use them if necessary and the effect is more balanced. everyone can use the environmental. whats more, if you dont want to see it around, you pack Slams. 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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 15:24:44 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] amok sideways? On Mon, 27 Jul 1998, Alex Rodriguez wrote: > if there are only two character in play and they are in the same > consiracy side by side, does the Amoked character have to attack the > other? yes. sounds like you need a Crystal Trap. 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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 15:32:03 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] terror vs fury On Mon, 27 Jul 1998, Alex Rodriguez wrote: > if a character is terrorized can it be furied? going out on a limb here, i will say "yes." Terrors is meant to say that you cannot voluntarily crank the character, not that it cannot possibly be cranked. thus, doing things to it that make it crank, such as Tanja Voss, result in it being cranked. so, i would take it that an action that said it "must" do something would mean that it would do that thing. traditionally, if you must do something you cant do, like playing Fury on the Coral Entity (what's it do, grow faster?), then the Entity would just crank. 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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 13:38:30 -0700 From: Alex Rodriguez Subject: Re: [The Edge] New Cards > either way, the difficulty lies in uniqueness... this seems to > subvert uniqueness by allowing you to "call" a person easily. you could add a cost to the effect like DP + Pull or the cost of the card. After all, if he's on your payroll... > so its important that they come over cranked and that you lose > your copy in hand. including a counter card (ie Identity Revealed) > which hoses Double Agent is protection against over abuse. how about a "Free Agent" card. The Double Agent joins the "team" with the highest offer. [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: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 16:23:02 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] New Cards On Mon, 27 Jul 1998, Alex Rodriguez wrote: > how about a "Free Agent" card. The Double Agent joins the "team" with > the highest offer. this makes me think another "pair" of environmentals might work in the same fashion as Unified Conspiracy Theory and Fractal Infection. you have Double Agent Madness, a Chaos Environmental that allows you to discard a person to take them into your consipracy cranked from another players conspiracy... this pops and is popped by a Cloak Environmental, True Colors Revealed, which pops all double agents. 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: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 10:13:38 -0400 (EDT) From: Joshua Kronengold Subject: Re: [The Edge] amok sideways? Eric Jome writes: >On Mon, 27 Jul 1998, Alex Rodriguez wrote: > >> if there are only two character in play and they are in the same >> consiracy side by side, does the Amoked character have to attack the >> other? > >yes. sounds like you need a Crystal Trap. > Actually, the appropriate thing to do in this situation is crank the other character to move him or her diagonally across from the Amoked character, afther that..no problem. - -- mneme@dorsai.org Joshua Kronengold |\ _,,,--,,_ ,) - ---^---- "What part of 'Pthhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr' /,`.-'`' -, ;-;;' /\\ didn't you understand?" -- Me |,4- ) )-,_ ) /\ - -/-\\\-- AKA mneme at mcny.com '---''(_/--' (_/-' [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 #89 ******************************* [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