As you will recall from our last episode, I've been on the annual ConDuit safari (a thoroughly classy custom in which the convention's guests are treated to as much of the glory and beauty of outdoor Utah as they can survive). After leaving the Dance Floo
r tracksite, we visited Bryce Canyon (pretty vertical rocks) and Kodachrome Basin (more pretty vertical rocks, only different). The photo shows Fairyland, one of the most impressive
vistas at Bryce.
The next day we visited St. George, the Utah town where a land developer recently uncovered dino tracks while grading some near-downtown property. Escorted by Tracy Hickman (yes, Dragonlance fans, *that* Tracy Hickman, who is not only a gentleman and a scholar but also a dinosaur fan) we checked it out. These tracks are actually casts - that is, stone formed from the clay that filled the tracks. The detail is incredible. The property owners are doing their best to preserve the tracks while still allowing the publick to visit, and hope to get them into a museum. (No picture here, due to technical difficulties, i.e., Steve let the camera battery run down. So I bought a disposable and took some shots, but those ar en't developed yet. I love digital technology; the challenge is to be at least as smart as your equipment.)
In our next episode, we visit Missoula and go around in circles . . .
-- Steve Jackson
Here's upcoming chats available for Pyramid subscribers this week:
James Earnest, the man responsible for Cheapass Games and creator of Kill Doctor Lucky, Give Me The Brain, and others, will chat on Tuesday, May 30th (7pm CDT) about where he gets his ideas and just how one goes about designing a game.
Then on Thursday, June 1st (7pm CDT), Gareth-Michael Skarka, operations manager for Synister Creative Systems and designer of the critically acclaimed Hong Kong Action Theatre! RPG, will be discussing his latest project, the UnderWorld RPG, which is due to be released at this year's GenCon.
-- Steven Marsh
GURPS Bestiary is now in playtest. Pyramid subscribers can access the playtest files. And if you're not already a subscriber, subscribe today!
-- Keith Johnson
History is more fun when you're a part of it - join the fun with the GURPS Historical/Time Travel Mega Bundle, now available in Warehouse 23 Specials.
-- Brendon Rehm
Or something disturbingly like it, but don't worry, the Happy Flower Chimp will end his reign of terror. Lee's (Useless) Super-Hero Generator provides the world with an endless supply of super-
beings on both sides of the law. A few choices randomly determine your weapons, powers and equipment. Make single supers or whole teams. The only question: is it the heroes or the generator that's useless? The Cobalt Hillbilly certainly strikes fear in our hearts ...
-- Suggested by Dave Walsh
Reporting in from Utah. ConDuit was fun, and Arrrrr! was
indeed said a great deal. I'm now tracking dinosaurs in the wilds of Utah. We haven't seen any yet, but as the photo will attest, we seem to be getting close. This trackway comprises just a few of many hundreds of tracks on the "Dance Floor." These are t
heropod tracks, and each one is about a foot long.
The fourth volume in the GURPS Traveller Alien Races series will address the biology, home worlds, culture, and society of 17 minor races. These writeups will follow the format set out for minor races in Alien Races 1-3. As we did for GURPS Villians and the Who's Who series, we are inviting fans to take part in creating this book.
Each submission will address one race at a length of roughly 4,000 to 7,000 words. It will give concise accounts of their historical involvement with the Imperium, and will include racial templates. The author should be familiar not only with GUR PS Traveller, but also the original Classic Traveller source material and the basics of nonhuman species construction presented in GURPS Compendium I.
Six of the races in Alien Races 4 will be original creations by David Pulver or GURPS Traveller writeups of his canon races by Phil Masters. The remaining races, open for inquiry, include:
Ael Yael: a flying race from Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society No. 15.
Ahetaowa: sentient psionic plants from Challenge No. 56.
Bwaps: also known as Newts, found in JTAS No. 11.
Girug'kagh: subjects of the K'kree found in JTAS No. 21.
Hana Saka: lizard men from Challenge No. 52.
Hlanssai: bipeds found in Vargr space from JTAS No. 22.
J'aadje: from the Double Adventure Night of Conquest/Divine Intervention.
Shalli: amphibians from Traveller: the New Era that were only accepted as intelligent after the Rebellion. This will involve deciding their role in the GT timeline.
Shriekers: aliens with high-pitched voices from "Safari Ship."
Stalkers: long-necked, squat, xenophobic aliens of the Hinterworlds Sector from Challenge No. 39.
Virushi: aliens the size of a small rhino, from JTAS No. 12.
Contributors will be paid a flat rate for their work. Those interested should inquire with Loren Wiseman, as all races will be assigned rather than be subject to a general "best of" submissions process. Content will be d ue July 20, 2000.
Java's Crypt, producer of fine jewelry for Warehouse 23, is going out of the bronze business. Therefore, all our bronze pendants, pins, and so forth just became limited -edition collector's items! Once we sell out of our current stock, these lovely pieces are gone forever. Hurry before they're all gone . . .
-- Brendon Rehm
Science marches on, right into the neighbor's yard where the stinkymeat team has left their science project: a plate of raw meat. Like a traffic accident from which you cannot turn away, the stinkymeat scientists p
rovide a day-by-day account of the slow disintegration of the meat and their gag reflexes. Scarier than the Blair Witch Project, with pictures not for the faint of heart.
-- Suggested by Pete Knight
GURPS Villains
The hero may be the star of his story, but it takes a prize villain
to bring out the best in him! GURPS Villains is a compilation of dastardly
foes from all ages, genres, and backgrounds. Crackpot spy-movie
masterminds, backstabbing patricians, grim undead overlords, hard-bitten
crime bosses . . . they're all here! Each villain is described both
biographically and in game terms, and is accompanied by "bits" like
fiendish plots, evil henchmen, devious deathtraps, and secret strongholds.
GURPS Villains also includes a GM's guide to dramatic villain design and
use. After all, everybody loves a "good" bad guy!
GMs can use this book for instant opponents, or choose a villain they like and build a whole campaign around him! There are over 50 villains (and villainous groups) with complete stats and writeups, including details of their "evil plans," in this survey of fiends and foes from all times and climes.
#6416, ISBN 1-55634-414-7, $19.95.
Alien Races 3 (for GURPS Traveller)
The third book in the Alien Races series describes two of the MOST
alien races in the Traveller universe - the Droyne and the Hivers. The
Droyne, which Imperial archaeologists are beginning to suspect are
identical to the ancient race that scattered Humaniti and created the
Vargr, are among the most pacific of all the inhabitants of the Imperium.
But if they were once so powerful, why have they given up on the jump-drive
and the other trappings of interstellar power? What did they learn that
Humaniti will not?
And what about the Hivers, the strange six-limbed creatures who dominate dozens of other races within their Hive Federation? Why do they treat their offspring so strangely? Does their incredible intelligence translate to wisdom? Or does their lust to manipulate others represent a threat to the Imperium?
Special bonus! This book includes "gold" cardboard punch-out versions of the 36 Droyne coyns, and complete instructions for Droyne divination. Droyne characters can now "cast the coyns" to determine their future actions . . . and Human characters can wonder why it works . . .
#6608, ISBN 1-55634-431-7. $22.95.
Shockwave
Shockwave is the first supplement for
Ogre/GEV. It includes 224
counters for a variety of new units, a full-color map that fits on any
side of the G.E.V. map, and 12 scenarios (four for Ogre, eight for
G.E.V.).
New units in Shockwave include a devastating Cruise Missile (and a Laser Tower to shoot it down), three new types of GEV; and the Superheavy Tank!
#7201, ISBN 1-55634-435-X. $9.95.
We are open to both an employee or contract labor relationship. We can work around a flexible schedule. If you are interested, please email your resume to kellyrs@sjgames.com.
-- Kelly Singletary
-- from the introduction to "Pi: A Source Book" by L. Berggren, J. Borwein and P. Borwein
Simon Fraser University's The Pi Pages are full of information and links about this most fascinating of numbers. Math fans, rejoice!
-- Steve Jackson
This will be the first time I've run the Pirate Game here . . . it happened because a few Legophiles really worked hard to get the attention the con (thanks, guys). So we'll see how it goes!
-- Steve Jackson
On the other hand, excess leisure time alone cannot account for a project of this scope. Great madness is required, as well. Go, Tech House!
Heavy security is the price of doing business these days. Joining ICC Commercial Crime Services offers a number of perks and allays a multitude of fears. Training, counterfeit detection and cyber-protectio
n are just a few of the many tools it uses to smooth your road to riches.And for a really uneasy night's sleep, check out its weekly piracy report before going boating.
-- Suggested by John Macek
Today's the day, so if you're reading this while sitting hip-deep in water, you know Richard W. Noone knew what he was talking about in his famous book 5/5/2000 - Ice: The Ultimate Disaster. Since the mid-80s, Noone has been warning us of the planetary alignment that will destroy the polar ice caps. You've had 14 years worth of heads-up, and it's time to pay the piper.
-- Andy
"Discworld: Wyrd Sisters" is available in VHS and DVD formats.
-- Brendon Rehm
I'm currently buried in GURPS In Nomine stuff; specifically, the page-reference checking and final proofing. Beth McCoy and Walter Milliken have done an incredible job on this book, and I'm very proud of it . . . but
right now I have read it as many times as I want to in one week, and I'm not quite through. But it goes to print this week.All of which is by way of explaining why I have not yet posted the pictures I took last week, or reported on what I did after Fastaval ended . . .
I went to Legoland. For those who haven't heard of it, it's the Lego theme park, in Billund, Denmark. (There are now two others -- one in England and one in California -- but I started with the original.) Now, this is both serious fun and a holy pilgrimag e, if you're a Lego geek, and I am. This was the offer that made the Fastaval invitation irresistible, even on short notice. (One thing about having my weaknesses known to all . . . nobody has any trouble figuring out how to bribe me). And not only was th e convention fantastic, but Legoland was everything I had expected.
I will do a longer report before long, and post the rest of the pictures that I took . . . but this one is just too good to wait. Here we see the live version of the Lego pirate captain, and the Lego version of the Lego parrot.
-- Steve Jackson
"Remember that unlike in many LARPs, intrigue is about as common in Goats as the Pope praying in the direction of Mecca."
"We're here to have fun, not to be the Dark Prince of Muncie, Indiana and hold control of the World Of Darkness."
"Remember, she who controls the beer controls the universe."
-- Steve Jackson
