The PCs each pick a character class. There are five:
Roll for Hit Points. I don't care what you roll, they're not used for anything.
For any action, roll a D6.
1 - You're a loser. Your character's OK, but you're a loser.
2 - Your character is wounded. Take some damage.
3 - It's your turn to get everyone a new soda.
4 - Punch someone next to you. If they hit back, claim you were just
playing in character, and that their retaliation was metagaming at
its worst.
5 - Someone else's character is wounded. Brag about how cool you are.
6 - CRITICAL SUCCESS! Punch two people, as per #4.
Level advancement: Your GM will tell you when he thinks you should
go up a level. It's strongly recommended no one advance more than
one level every 4 minutes, 38 seconds.
No, that's not really what happens at all. The iris scanner causes no permanent damage. The brilliant flash merely leaves passengers stunned and tractable, making for quieter and safer flights. Effects wear off in from 4 to 12 hours in most cases. Rumors that posthypnotic suggestion is involved are entirely . . . ahh, where was I?
Read the MSNBC story, which is dryer but far more accurate, since major news media aren't supposed to make up stuff the way we do fnord.
"Well, what, exactly, do you mean by cake?" Are you talking about a specific cake, or the class of cakes, or the concept of cake, or "cake" as a metaphor . . . ?"
Are you thinking too much about food? Naaaah . . . not compared to Jean-Paul, you're not. The Sartre Cookbook offers new insight into the tortured soul of a man to whom "reasoned argument" meant a food fight.
So the Limited Edition Hardbacks of GURPS Steampunk came in, and they look beautiful, and whoops, I have to sign them all. And the signatures have to be LEGIBLE. Fortunately, not being Pete Abrams, I'm not required to draw cute little characters with every one . . . you'll have to make do with the smiley pyramid.Over half of these were pre-ordered - wow, and thanks! - and by the time you read this, they'll have shipped out already. So if you haven't gotten one, and want to, this is the time to jump on it.
Distant early warning . . . the next LEH will be GURPS Atlantis.
-- Steve Jackson
Peel back the onion and there's always another, deeper layer. The International Movement for the Ban of Radiofrequency Weapons Controling Human Nervous System had a fairly rosy view of mind control compared to the Project Freedom Network's psycho-electronic weapons. The New World Order, political prisoners and Freemasonic Brotherhood are just icing on the cake.
-- Suggested by Cornelius Tacitus
Chez Dork progress being make. Car Wars progress being made. Need to be triplets.
-- Steve Jackson
As for us, we're certainly taking a cue from these men of genius... that's right, at Steve Jackson Games we know full well the recreation possibilities of the cow, and are working hard to provide you, faithful readers, with plenty of bovine amusement, as evidenced by the forthcoming Battle Cattle: the Card Game, based on the original Battle Cattle by Wingnut Games. And of course, we're not the only ones... Cheapass Games is fully aware how versatile the cow can be, as well.
I'm having a really difficult time keeping myself from closing this post with the word "cowtastic."
- Sage
Frag
Game starts. Enemy in sight . . . Frag him! Grab his stuff! Run! Get a bigger gun! Grab some armor! There he is again! Frag him! Whoa,
there's another one. Run . . . you're hit! You're down. Respawn! Grab a weapon! Start again!
Frag is a computer game without a computer. It's a "first-person shooter" on a tabletop. Move your fighter and frag your foes; draw cards for weapons, armor, and gadgets; move through the blood spatters to restore your own health! If you die, you respawn and come back shooting!
Easy to learn, fast-moving, fun . . . we playtested Frag at a Florida convention, and the crowd got so big and noisy they had to move us!
Yes! This is a winner! Frag 'em all!!
For two to six players. Includes two different play maps, counters and figures, plastic bases, cards, and rules.
Stock #1339, ISBN 1-55634-536-4. $34.95.
Munchkin
Go down in the dungeon. Kill everything you meet. Backstab your friends and steal their stuff. Grab the treasure and run.
Admit it. You love it.
This new card game, designed by Steve Jackson, captures the essence of the dungeon experience... with none of that stupid roleplaying stuff. You and your friends compete to kill monsters and grab magic items. And what magic items! Don the Horny Helmet and the Boots of Butt-Kicking. Wield the Staff of Napalm... or maybe the Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment. Start by slaughtering the Potted Plant and the Drooling Slime, and work your way up to the Plutonium Dragon...
And it's illustrated by John Kovalic! Fast-playing and silly, Munchkin can reduce any roleplaying group to hysteria. And, while they're laughing, you can steal their stuff.
168 cards, rules sheet, and sturdy set-up box
Stock #1408, ISBN 1-55634-473-2. $24.95.
GURPS Traveller Deck Plan 5: Sulieman-Class Scout/Courier
The 100-ton Sulieman is one of the most commonly encountered vessels in Imperial space and on its borders. The Scout Service
uses thousands of Suliemans for reconnaisance, survey, courier/VIP transport, and liaison duties; the Sulieman II seeker
is the standard mineral survey craft. Retired scouts are sometimes granted the long-term use of a Sulieman for private
prospecting or trade.
Because this vessel is so easily available to PCs, this deck plan will be of interest to players as well as GMs. It comprises 8 double-sided sheets (hexes on one side, squares on the other), and includes a set of Cardboard Heroes miniatures to crew the ship and provide encounters.
Stock #7505, ISBN 1-55634-515-1. $16.95.
GURPS Character Sheets: Summer of Horror Edition
This pack contains 20 blank forms: 12 copies of the two-sided GURPS character sheet, two sheets with grimoire forms on both sides, and two sheets with GM control sheets on both sides.
Use them for any character type in any genre . . . you can do anything with GURPS!
Extra Summer of Horror bonus: a set of Cardboard Heroes miniatures. A horde of skeletons and mummies . . . including two undead giants! Use them in your fantasy game . . . your horror game . . . or drop them into some other genre and terrify your players!
Stock #6420, ISBN 1-55634-538-0. $14.95.
You can pick these up from your local retailer, or order them from Warehouse 23.
- Sage
Sometimes it's Really Classified Cutting-Edge Stuff. (No, really!) And sometimes . . . well, last night it was punchlines for jokes that do not actually exist.
SJ . o O ("If it's not Wan Ting, it's an otter!")
marq . o O ( "How's *that* for pants! )
SJ . o O ( "Fine. Start with the flagpole." )
marq . o O ( "no, no -- YOU eat the tadpole, and I'll go fishing!" )
SJ . o O ( "Fourteen, actually, but one of them forgot his shoes." )
marq . o O ( "What? And leave the marmoset?" )
SMarsh . o O ( The Devil looked at the poodle and said, 'Anyone who'd do -that- can keep it.' )
SJ . o O ( "If I were any closer, I'd be Italian." )
marq . o O ( "I SAID .... "What? And leave the Marmoset"! ... you know ... the MAR-mo-set! ... maybe I'm not telling it right ... " )
SMarsh . o O ( "You can get more than two good pictures out of a ViewMaster." )
SMarsh . o O ( Actually, that's an okay punchline... 'What's the difference between George Lucas and a ViewMaster?' )
And we couldn't top that . . .
-- Steve Jackson
Well, I've got a dozen of them. They range from fragments of books that haven't yet been contracted, to first drafts (I'm really looking forward to the new "Miles Vorkosigan" worldbook but it's fourth on the list) to final-we-hope printouts of announced titles like GURPS Monsters. And that's not even counting the stack of proposed cards for the new Chez Geek expansion, and of course my turn with the new Car Wars rules. It's a good thing I love my work . . . and it's a good thing the all-night service station down the road has such great coffee.
-- Steve Jackson
At the GFP Bunny Project, they practice transgenic art "with a commitment to respect, nurture, and love the life thus created," which in this case is a glowing green rabbit.
-- From multiple submissions
Oh, and the dead walk the earth. Welcome to the Weird West.
Saddle up and ride on out, as the great hit for Pinnacle Entertainment Group comes to GURPS! In GURPS Deadlands: Weird West, two great games come together! Play a hex-slinging card sharp, an undead gunfighter, or a mysterious Indian shaman -- it's all here!
GURPS Deadlands: Weird West is now in playtest! Pyramid subscribers can access the playtest files. And if you're not already a subscriber, subscribe today! (Note that this is a very short playtest, closing on July 30 -- get your comments in today!)
-- Andrew Hackard
Our more-then-decimated crew is shaking down and pulling together. We still don't have a handle on our true financial situation, but our new controller is making progress. New things are still going to the printers – in fact, we sent back the final proof Saturday for GURPS Cabal.
Our thanks to everyone - both fans, and fellow publishers - who wrote with words of encouragement.
And our special thanks to those who chose to support us by visiting Warehouse 23 and picking up some stuff. The Monday after the announcement was a busy day for the Warehouse crew, but they didn't complain at all :-)
We have signed a licensing deal with Fantasy Flight Games to produce a GURPS adaptation of FFG's Blue Planet, to be called . . . wait for it! . . . can you guess . . . GURPS Blue Planet.
No release date to announce yet, since it's not WRITTEN, but we'll fast-track this one. I have always admired the Blue Planet background and am pleased to be bringing it to GURPS fans. And the general setting is similar enough to that of Transhuman Space that there's lots of crossover potential.
-- Steve Jackson
No, no, not a website where gamers post pictures of themselves (shudder) . . . but a website where they can post pictures of their lovingly painted miniatures. CoolMiniOrNot.com is up and running, and already has over 100 photos of painted miniatures.
Haven't seen any Ogre Miniatures posted yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time, hint, hint.
-- Scott Haring
If you're getting a sense of déjà vu while playing that new video game, there's good reason. The Grand List Of Console Role Playing Game Clichés reminds us that the best plots are the ones you already know, or at least bits and pieces of them.
-- Suggested by Nana Yaw Ofori
Hi.
Rather than bore you with details about myself, I'll just let those of you who are crazy (or bored (or both!)) enough to care take a look at my character sheet, which seemed like a good idea at the time...
Oh, and props to my friend Rae (whose site belies her artistic abilities) for the rather accurate depiction of me, especially since it allows me to avoid the camera eye. ;)
So hello there, nice to meet you. Just call me Sage. Everyone else does. :)
GURPS Age of Napoleon is now in playtest! Pyramid subscribers can access the playtest files. And if you're not already a subscriber, subscribe today!
-- Keith Johnson
GURPS Cliffhangers is now in playtest! Pyramid subscribers can access the playtest files. And if you're not already a subscriber, subscribe today!
-- Keith Johnson
Quantities are extremely limited, so order yours today!
The full list:
2000 Origins Awards Winners
Announced at Origins 2001
Best Abstract Board Game
Icehouse: The Martian Chess Set
Designers: Andrew Looney, John Cooper
Looney Labs
Best Historical Board Game
Axis & Allies: Europe
Designer: Larry Harris
Avalon Hill
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game
The Great Brain Robbery
Designer: James Ernest
Cheapass Games
Best Graphic Presentation of a Board Game
The Hills Rise Wild!
Art Director: Jesper Myrfors; Graphic Designer: John Tynes
Pagan Publishing
Best Trading Card Game
Sailor Moon Collectible Card Game
Designers: Mark C. MacKinnon, Jeff Mackintosh, Karen McLarney, John R.
Phythyon, Jr.
Dart Flipcards
Best Traditional Card Game
Chrononauts
Designer: Andrew Looney
Looney Labs
Best Card Game Expansion or Supplement
BRAWL: Club Foglio
for BRAWL
Designer: James Ernest
Cheapass Games
Best Graphic Presentation of a Card Game
BRAWL: Club Foglio
for BRAWL
Graphic Designer: James Ernest
Cheapass Games
Best Game-Related Novel
Dragons of a Fallen Sun
Authors: Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman
Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Best Game-Related Short Work
Matt and Gilly's Big Date
appearing in Dork Tower #11
Author: John Kovalic
Dork Storm Press
Best Historical Miniatures Rules
Fields of Honor
Designer: Shane Lacy Hensley
Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Best Science-Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures Rules
Mage Knight: Rebellion
Designers: Jordan Weisman, Kevin Barrett
WizKids
Best Historical Figure Miniatures Series
Hammer's Hellhounds (US Paratroopers)
Sculptor: Jim Bland
Easy Eight Enterprises
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Figure Miniature
Beholder
for Dungeons & Dragons
Sculptor: Kim Graham, Will Hannah
Wizards of the Coast
Best Vehicular Miniature
Shadowsword Titan Hunter
for Warhammer 40,000
Sculptor: Brian Fawcett
Forge World
Best Amateur Game Periodical
Alarums & Excursions
Publisher: Lee Gold
Best Professional Game Periodical
Pyramid
Editor: Steven Marsh
Steve Jackson Games
Best Play-by-Mail Game
Starweb
Designer: Rick Loomis
Flying Buffalo Inc.
Best Roleplaying Adventure
Death in Freeport
for the d20 System
Designer: Chris Pramas
Green Ronin Publishing
Best Roleplaying Game
Dungeons & Dragons
Designers: Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams
Wizards of the Coast
Best Roleplaying Supplement
GURPS Steampunk
for GURPS
Designer: William H. Stoddard
Steve Jackson Games
Best Graphic Design of a Roleplaying Game, Adventure, or Supplement
Monster Manual
for Dungeons & Dragons
Graphic Designers: Sean Glenn, Sherry Floyd
Wizards of the Coast
Best Game Aid or Accessory
The Munchkin's Guide To Powergaming
Designers: James 'Grim' Desborough, Steve 'Big Steve' Mortimer, Phil 'Editor' Masters
Steve Jackson Games
This doesn’t mean we are going out of business. But I could see no other way to STAY in business. For over a year, we have had incomplete financial statements; for many months we have had a negative cash flow. I was repeatedly assured that better reports were coming, and that soon we’d be able to tell how much of our constant cash deficit was simply due to growth, and how much might relate to overstaffing, overhead, or individual projects that weren't pulling their weight.
But a few weeks ago, our CFO left. Our financial reports are over a year out of date (that is, it has been more than a year since any accounting period was fully closed to show profit or loss). Our inventory is a mess. I have been writing personal checks to keep our bank account in the black. It is hard to describe the problem in more detail without using technical accounting terminology and really bad language.
What it seems to boil down to is that for the better part of a year, I’ve been paying a great deal of money every day for the pleasure of owning a game company. Now, this business is fun, but not THAT much fun. More to the point, I’ve now thrown in all the money I can (and then some), always believing that we were about to see a turnaround. Looks like I was far too trusting for far too long.
Unfortunately, some good employees are now going to suffer for my mistake. I’m very sorry.
For those concerned about what happens now at SJ Games, some Q&A follows. And I’ll be on Pyramid Chat tonight at 7 to discuss this, along with some other staff members.
Q: So SJ Games has been losing money?
A: I don’t know! Like I said: no reliable financials. It’s quite possible to be profitable but have negative cash flow. Indications are we really weren’t profitable last year, but I don’t know yet by how much, or where the loss might have come from. Our per-product sales were up in 2000 (and are up more in 2001), we’ve been producing more products, and the distributors have been paying their bills. The cash ought to be there, but it’s not.
Q: What are you doing about it?
A: We’ve hired a new controller with extensive experience. He’s working to clean up the books. We have some really good stuff about to ship . . . Frag, Munchkin, Chez Dork . . . and that will bring in some cash. And those of us who are left will be working harder.
Q: Who’s being laid off?
A: I have a personal problem with posting the list of names, because nobody on that list is to blame for the situation. If you work for a competitor and want to pick up our losses . . . GO FOR IT. These are good people and we want to help them find jobs. Write me personally (sj@io.com) and tell me what kind of skills you’re looking for, and I’ll forward the info to anybody who meets your requirements.
Q: So how do you know this layoff will solve the problem?
A: I don’t. I just know that if we DON’T cut our monthly expenses by this much, we won’t be able to pay the remainder of our bills. This way, we will. One step at a time.
Q: What happens to the schedule?
A: We’ll post a new schedule very soon. For close months, not much will change; products already at the printer, or ready for the printer, will ship on schedule. We’re still sorting out how much we can do with our remaining staff and resources.
We’ll probably cut the size of our press runs, even if that means going out of print on some books in 6 months or less, just because that saves cash in the short run.
Car Wars will still happen in October, for sure.
Q: How can I help?
A: Think kind thoughts. Forgive us if we don’t ship our new books and games quite as quickly as we had planned. If you feel like spending money, remember Warehouse 23 . . .
They say three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. The Disclosure Project has gone above and beyond the call by listing dozens of stories from UFO eyewitnesses in hopes of getting the government to come clean about aliens. If you've got a congressman, they want your help.
-- Suggested by David Cunnius
Steve Jackson Games and Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc. announced an agreement today that allows ADB to use the GURPS roleplaying system in their new edition of Prime Directive, a roleplaying game set in the Star Fleet Universe of ADB’s Star Fleet Battles, Federation & Empire, and other best-selling games."This is the next step in our strategic plan to take the Star Fleet Universe where it always should have been,” ADB President Steve Cole said. “Prime Directive, 2nd Edition is the linchpin of a comprehensive line of gaming products set in our universe.”
The Star Fleet Universe is the science-fiction world of the original Star Trek television series. The first release in the new Prime Directive, 2nd Edition line is scheduled for late in the year. “We knew we needed to upgrade the system as part of a new edition,” Cole said, “and GURPS was our first choice. It’s the game that our staff and our fans were begging us to use.”
“Powered by GURPS” is a new label for roleplaying lines that use the GURPS game system but are more than just GURPS supplements. Prime Directive, 2nd Edition will be the first game published by a company other than SJ Games to carry the “Powered by GURPS” logo. “But not the last,” Jackson said. The new Transhuman Space line, which kicks off from SJ Games in late 2001, will also be “Powered by GURPS.”
-- Scott Haring
The Steve Jackson Games offices are closed today, but we'll all be back at it tomorrow.
In the meantime, you may wish to celebrate by setting off a Nazi Atom Bomb or one of the other fascinating products advertised on the same site. (They seem to be claiming that "Nazi" is a registered trademark, too.) One of the fireworks you can select is the "Millinnium Greast Special," but that page is gone. Perhaps it's just as well. We still want to know why the Atom Bomb package shows a Wookiee with a machine-gun.
Whatever you do this Fourth, remember: Do not fire near child or old aged person or sick. Light fue with port-fire and get away . . .
Having thought it through, here are my Top Ten Advantages to Being a Fictional Character.
10. Can have a sidekick.
9. Occasional discrepancies in hair and eye color explainable as careless writing.
8. Never have to go to the bathroom unless it’s necessary to the plot, which it rarely is.
7. Can ask Zoe out to dinner, if I promise not to say the magic word that turns her into a camel.
6. Can (unlike real human beings) wear a superhero costume without looking ridiculous.
5. Eligible for advantages which require an Unusual Background.
4. No longer have faults, merely dramatic flaws.
3. Can trademark own name.
2. Cannot be harmed by ordinary weapons.
And the number one advantage to being a fictional character:
1. TOLD you I was too good to be true!
-- Steve Jackson
The original Car Wars debuted in 1981. It was an instant hit, winning the Origins Award for Best Science Fiction Boardgame of 1981. The game spawned dozens of expansion sets and supplements, a fan club with two national tournaments a year, Autoduel Quarterly magazine, and crossovers with the GURPS and Champions roleplaying games.
And now ... it’s back. The classic game of car combat is now bigger, faster, deadlier, and easier to play. The new Car Wars features a triple-sized scale -- car counters are 3" long. “The upscaling is just one feature,” designer Phil Reed said. “We went back to the original Car Wars as our starting point, and left out a lot of the additional complications that came later. It’s easier to learn and play, and loads of fun.”
Scott Haring was Car Wars Line Editor, editor of Autoduel Quarterly, and designer or developer of many Car Wars expansion sets and supplements during the game’s original heyday. He said, “Where I think we lost our way was when players spent more time with vehicle design spreadsheets, fine-tuning armor compositions and ammunition weights, than they did actually playing the game. I’m so glad to see this new version putting the emphasis back where it belongs -- the action on the highways and in the arenas.”
The first product in the Car Wars relaunch will be Car Wars: The Card Game, an August release. The card game provides the first peek at the new graphic look of Car Wars, a look that will continue throughout the entire line.
"We knew we wanted something different for the art and graphic presentation as well as the system," Reed said. "After a year of searching for 'the' artist I found Sanford Greene, and his style is perfect. It’s kicky and dynamic, and very much in the anime tradition, and that makes it perfect for the new feel of the game, as well as today’s audience.”
Scheduled for October are three “Starter Set” booklets. Each booklet has the basic movement and combat rules, with two pre-designed cars (plus several variant designs per car). Bound into the booklet (and printed on the covers) are counter sheets with all the counters you need. Each booklet will retail for $5.95.
The first three Starter Sets all feature Division 5 vehicles. One booklet is all that is necessary to play the game, but all three will give players six different cars (plus variants) for maximum mayhem! And more Starter Sets are coming in future months, featuring motorcycles and other vehicle types, and higher Divisions.
Future plans for the Car Wars line include the complete vehicle design system, miniatures in the new 3” scale, and a free online magazine, Autoduel Times.
“I love the new look, and I love the direction the design has gone in,” Haring said. “But mostly, I’m just happy that Car Wars is back!”
