Traveller-digest           Thursday, 18 July 1996       Volume 1996 : Number 268

(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

         1. Slang For Traveller
         2. Re: Pop culture
         3. Re: Realism
         4. Re: mailing list
         5. Name for E-Mag?
         6. Terran History:  Canada
         7. Re: the mailing list
         8. Re: Terran History:  Canada
         9. Re: Realism
        10. Re: Name for E-Mag?
        11. Re: Rules for Starship Construction (LONG)
        12. Re: Good explanation of jump process
        13. RE: Fighters in Space
        14. Re: Pity Me!
        15. Planing  Supercarriers
        16. AHL Reference Sheet
        17. Sundry
        18. Re: Name for E-Mag?
        19. The N and P brigade!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: csbennet@lava.net (Morgan)
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 10:26:58 -1000
Subject: Slang For Traveller

>"Saw it stop" made me think of The Tomorrow File by Lawrence Sanders, which
>has some good dialect that could be imported into a science fiction rpg
>("em" and "ef" for man and woman; "stop" for die; "love" for money; and many
>others).
>
>- --Glenn

The best source of "slang dialogue" I've seen has been in Steve Perry's
books (no not the Conan books he wrote). No one can argue that he writes
anything but breezers, but he has a really neat set of slang. "Cools" are
cops and such, can't remember the rest but I'll try to jot them down on my
LONG flight back home.

Which brings me to another topic, I'll be relocating and although I know I
don't generate a lot of traffic I sometimes like to believe that _somebody_
out there might get in touch with me so it is with much ernestness that I
announce that I'll be moving very shortly. I'll be offline probably until
the end of the month when I find out where I'll be living. Until then, happy
Travelling!!!

Morgan
Money can't buy me happiness, but I'm quite sure it makes a dandy downpayment.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Relocating back to the Mainland, I'll be back online as soon as possible.


------------------------------

From: Charles Pratt <tminus@u.washington.edu>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 13:37:48 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Pop culture

On Wed, 17 Jul 1996, Stuart L. Dollar wrote:

> You could start with music, for one.  Virtually every major musical
> movement of the 20th century saw its origin in the US...  Ragtime,
> Jazz, Blues, Rock, etc...

Well, I disagree about it all originating in the US, but it was certainly
was marketed best in the US ('course for you cynical people out there,
those are one and the same..).

- -----

        "Life is a disease of matter." --- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
        Charles Pratt tminus@u.washington.edu -- when in doubt, sail.
"The gods do not protect fools. Fools are protected by more capable fools"
                                          -- Larry Niven, _Ringworld_


------------------------------

From: Charles Pratt <tminus@u.washington.edu>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 13:40:41 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Realism

On Thu, 18 Jul 1996, Tom Ellis wrote:

> Oh, by all means, I agree completely.  I just always found it to be a neat
> idea....BOOOM....OFF WE GO.

I would imagine it would be more like "Here we go!"  BOOOM...SPLAT.
How many G's would a directed nuclear detonation impart?

- -----

        "Life is a disease of matter." --- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
        Charles Pratt tminus@u.washington.edu -- when in doubt, sail.
"The gods do not protect fools. Fools are protected by more capable fools"
                                          -- Larry Niven, _Ringworld_


------------------------------

From: Tom Ellis <tellis@telerama.lm.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 16:45:54 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: mailing list

Do not send the entire digest back to the list.  If you want off mail
majordomo or the listowner.

_______________________________________________________
Tom Ellis
tellis@telerama.lm.com
http://www.lm.com/~tellis/

"No! Do, or do not.  There is not try." Yoda
_______________________________________________________ 


------------------------------

From: jeff.zeitlin@execnet.com (JEFF ZEITLIN)
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 96 18:02:00 -0500
Subject: Name for E-Mag?

  Y'know, I've got lots of ideas for the E-mag I mentioned a few
  digests back, and some of them may even work (I'm waiting on
  some Email).  What I don't have, and will desperately need, is
  a _name_ for the flippin' thing.

  At the moment, I'm leaning toward "Freelance Traveller", but
  I'm not enamored of it.  Another idea was "IV", pronounced
  "four", but with the alternate possible meaning of
  "Independent Voyager" or some such - but I'm not enamored of
  that, either.

  So, it's time to come back to the lists, and ask for ideas.
  So that's what I'm doing.  Let me know what you think, both of
  my names, and of what you think a good name might be.

  While you're at it, throw in a few titles for some of the
  things you'd like to see as regularly appearing themes - kind
  of like "Ship's Locker" and "Contact" were in the original
  JTAS.

==========================================================================
Jeff Zeitlin                                      jeff.zeitlin@execnet.com
- ---
  OLXWin 1.00b  C:\DOS   C:\DOS\RUN   \RUN\DOS\RUN


------------------------------

From: sudet@well.com (Glenn M. Goffin)
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 15:54:47 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Terran History:  Canada

>From: Larry Hadley <lhadley@knet.knet.flemingc.on.ca>

>> Believe it or not, Rock and Roll is considered to have started in=
 Ontario,
>> Canada.  I don't remember who the artist was, but some Canadian is=
 credited
>> with cutting the first Rock and Roll song. =20

>   Dammit, figures his name would drop from my mind just as i hit the "r"
>key. ;)  He's famous for "Cinnamon Girl". My parents lived across from him
>and his parents when I was born.

Neil Young?

In the 58th Century, Canada will be (mis)remembered as a country with two
official languages -- English and French -- so at war with one another that
the country needed a German national anthem:

O Canada, O Canada
Wie treu sind Deine Bl=E4tter!

- --Glenn


------------------------------

From: Tom Ellis <tellis@telerama.lm.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 19:25:11 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: the mailing list

My apologies for sending what was meant as a private reply to the list
instead.
_______________________________________________________
Tom Ellis
tellis@telerama.lm.com
http://www.lm.com/~tellis/

"No! Do, or do not.  There is not try." Yoda
_______________________________________________________ 


------------------------------

From: Larry Hadley <lhadley@knet.knet.flemingc.on.ca>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 19:31:08 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Terran History:  Canada

On Thu, 18 Jul 1996, Glenn M. Goffin wrote:
> >> Believe it or not, Rock and Roll is considered to have started in Ontario,
> >> Canada.  I don't remember who the artist was, but some Canadian is credited
> >> with cutting the first Rock and Roll song.  
> 
> >   Dammit, figures his name would drop from my mind just as i hit the "r"
> >key. ;)  He's famous for "Cinnamon Girl". My parents lived across from him
> >and his parents when I was born.
> 
> Neil Young?

   Yeah, that's the guy I was thinking of. 

   After I posted, I started thinkingh sbout this. I think the original
poster is wrong (unless he wasn't thinking about Young), b/c Neil couldn;t
possibly have published stuff before Elvis. 

   I guess it depends on what you mean by Rock & Roll. ;)  

- -- DLH "Warhammer"                           lhadley@knet.flemingc.on.ca
   Traveller stuff for sale/trade.
   http://www.knet.flemingc.on.ca/~lhadley/Profile.html

"...I do my job the best way I know. I'll keep on doing that. If somebody
gets killed, OK. Nobody lives forever, and I don't have any friends on the
other end of the muzzle"
  - Danny Pritchard



------------------------------

From: Tom Ellis <tellis@telerama.lm.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 19:51:10 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Realism

On Thu, 18 Jul 1996, Charles Pratt wrote:

> 
> On Thu, 18 Jul 1996, Tom Ellis wrote:
> 
> > Oh, by all means, I agree completely.  I just always found it to be a neat
> > idea....BOOOM....OFF WE GO.
> 
> I would imagine it would be more like "Here we go!"  BOOOM...SPLAT.
> How many G's would a directed nuclear detonation impart?


I don't recall the exact thrust, but you'd be surprised I think how low
it is, the Orion was a big ship as I recall. And it was *multiple* bursts
needed to get up to speed.

Tom


------------------------------

From: Joe Walsh <ransom@connect.iconnect.net>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 19:34:02 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Re: Name for E-Mag?

On Thu, 18 Jul 1996, JEFF ZEITLIN wrote:

>   some Email).  What I don't have, and will desperately need, is
>   a _name_ for the flippin' thing.
> 
>   At the moment, I'm leaning toward "Freelance Traveller", but

Hmmm....not bad...

>   I'm not enamored of it.  Another idea was "IV", pronounced
>   "four", but with the alternate possible meaning of
>   "Independent Voyager" or some such - but I'm not enamored of
>   that, either.

Nor am I. :)

>   So, it's time to come back to the lists, and ask for ideas.
>   So that's what I'm doing.  Let me know what you think, both of
>   my names, and of what you think a good name might be.

You might follow the trail blazed by other magazines and take your name 
from some game element (ie, HPG/FASA's "High Passage"): "Free Trader News".  
Or you could go with a name that is reminiscent of some present-day 
publication: "Traveller Times," "Travellers' Quarterly," "Imperium 
Today."  Or, you could do something simple and straight-forward, like 
"Traveller E-Zine." :)

>   While you're at it, throw in a few titles for some of the
>   things you'd like to see as regularly appearing themes - kind
>   of like "Ship's Locker" and "Contact" were in the original
>   JTAS.

Suggestions:

Fiction section:  "Travellers' Diary," "Tales from the Front."
Rules variants: "Another Look At...[rule name here]"
Weapons: "Lock 'n Load"


- -Joe
______________________________________________________________________________
Joseph E. Walsh      |  Atari 8-Bit User and Programmer Since 1982
ransom@iconnect.net  |  Classic Traveller Referee Since 1983
Stuck in the '80s    |  Microsoft-Free and Loving It! :)



------------------------------

From: Joe Walsh <ransom@connect.iconnect.net>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 19:44:21 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Re: Rules for Starship Construction (LONG)

On Wed, 17 Jul 1996, Paul Walker wrote:

[snip]
> Yeah, I think I might occasionally enjoy that type of roleplay, but seeing
> the way the bosses (note the plural) kiss up (we're talking BIG time) to the
> customers, I think I could get much more enjoyment out of being on the
> receiving end of such suck-up-ness from my boss!  Just think, even if you
> got to tell your boss off, how much fun would it be to play a PC who did the
> same thing for a living that you did?  A very short (we're talking hour or
> two including combat) session with the boss, and I'd be through.  Hey, come
> to think of it, I might just create me and my boss into T4 characters when
> it comes out, and practice the combat rules for a while!  Heh Heh Heh!

I laughed out loud when I read what you wrote above....and I was at work 
at the time I was reading it, the first time. :) [My ISP had some 
trouble, so I was unable to post any replies for a day or so...]


- -Joe
P.S.  Thanks for posting the corrected formulae.  I'll make the changes 
to the original post you made, and print it all out...
______________________________________________________________________________
Joseph E. Walsh      |  Atari 8-Bit User and Programmer Since 1982
ransom@iconnect.net  |  Classic Traveller Referee Since 1983
Stuck in the '80s    |  Microsoft-Free and Loving It! :)



------------------------------

From: Joe Walsh <ransom@connect.iconnect.net>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 20:09:55 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Re: Good explanation of jump process

On Wed, 17 Jul 1996, Glenn M. Goffin wrote:

> Joe, you're too soft a referee.  In my universe, the PCs would breathe a big

I admit it, I'm a softie. :)  

> sigh of relief that they'd disengaged by jumping, and had no indication of
> misjump.  Then instead of a quick week to wherever, they'd have to role-play
> the nightmare of alarms, electronic failures, and mysterious medical
> problems, which, coupled with the zillion surface hits taken in the fight,
> would lead them to conclude that the jump grid wasn't functioning quite
> right.  Then they'd have to trace and repair it, or at least mark off the
> holes where j-space might -- or might not -- be reaching in.  

Nasty, nasty!  Then again, once this happened to them the first time, 
they'd hopefully make checks of the grid prior to jumping.  (Unless, of 
course, you have someone in hot pursuit, and they don't have time for that.:)


- -Joe
______________________________________________________________________________
Joseph E. Walsh      |  Atari 8-Bit User and Programmer Since 1982
ransom@iconnect.net  |  Classic Traveller Referee Since 1983
Stuck in the '80s    |  Microsoft-Free and Loving It! :)



------------------------------

From: Roderick Darroch Elliott <gpvll@hk.super.net>
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 1996 09:45:58 +0800 (HKT)
Subject: RE: Fighters in Space

Stuart L. Dollar wrote:

>
>On 18 Jul 96 at 8:47, Roderick Darroch Elliott spewed:
>
>> 
>>         But wouldn't the Nimitz planing be a sight to see :)?
>> 
>
>Saw the Ranger once in port in San Diego...  Had friends who served 
>on the Kitty Hawk and the Eisenhower...  As massive as the 
>Supercarriers are, its a sight just to see one moored to the dock...
>
>Stu
>"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" -Isaac Asimov, from
"Foundation"
>- 

        The ?Ethan Allen? was in Hong Kong for a week or so sometime last
month; I got to commute past it on the ferry twice a day.  I took a bunch of
pictures. Those are impressive vessels...



+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                         From the desk of either                       |
|                                                                       |
|    Roderick Darroch Elliott                  James Stephen Wishart    |
|                                                                       |
|                           gpvll@hk.super.net                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+


------------------------------

From: Roderick Darroch Elliott <gpvll@hk.super.net>
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 1996 09:46:02 +0800 (HKT)
Subject: Re: Pity Me!

Ross Coburn wrote the following libellous slander:

>
>From: ross@odyssee.net (Ross Coburn)
>Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 11:06:14 -0500
>Subject: Pity Me!
>
>By the Way, one Roderick Darroch Elliott, rabid larval lawyer and advocate
>of .1c ortillery, monofilament wire and hydroplaning aircraft carriers is
>one of my players.

        You'd think he'd be grateful, if not downright ecstatic, to have me
on board, but noooo... abuse abuse, and nothing but abuse is all I get.


>
>I really don't know why I'm starting a campaign.  Remember the "caddy, my
>shotgun" stream?  I immediately thought of him.

        One character!  One character, in a Vampire campaign that ran three
years ago, and the gun mania was entirely due to the sadistic ref putting
him into circumstances beyond his control, and here I am getting branded as
an NRA wannabee menace to society.  Sheesh.

>
>Please respond to this plea for help, preferably by sending me endless
>ideas on how to run his sorry butt up the nearest flagpole!  (Welcome back,
>Darroch.)
>

        I'd like to make a request for comments, preferably on how to
survive a Traveller campaign with a ref who's even more devious, and twisted
than I am! (Thanks; good to be back.  So when are you sending me that
background package, anyhow :)?)


+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                         From the desk of either                       |
|                                                                       |
|    Roderick Darroch Elliott                  James Stephen Wishart    |
|                                                                       |
|                           gpvll@hk.super.net                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+


------------------------------

From: Matt & Ellen McLaughlin <mkm@umr.edu>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 20:55:49 -0500
Subject: Planing  Supercarriers

owner-traveller-digest@MPGN.COM wrote:
> ------------------------------
> 
> From: "Stuart L. Dollar" <sdollar@goodnet.com>
> Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 23:23:26 -0800
> Subject: Re: Fighters in Space
> 
> On 18 Jul 96 at 8:47, Roderick Darroch Elliott spewed:
> 
> >
> >         But wouldn't the Nimitz planing be a sight to see :)?
> >
> 
> Saw the Ranger once in port in San Diego...  Had friends who served
> on the Kitty Hawk and the Eisenhower...  As massive as the
> Supercarriers are, its a sight just to see one moored to the dock...
> 

Yeah, but it's a lot prettier framed in the reticle of a periscope. ;)
Of course, a torpedo might have a little trouble catching her if she were running
fast enough plane, but if you did get her, Rock and Rolll!!

There's just subs and targets.  (of course, some targets shoot back! :)  )

> Stu
> "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" -Isaac Asimov, from "Foundation"
> - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> This tagline brought to you by Big Ed's Taco Emporium, conveniently located next to
> Bob's Pet Shop.
> Stuart L. Dollar           sdollar@goodnet.com
> 


Matt McL

------------------------------

From: Matt & Ellen McLaughlin <mkm@umr.edu>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 21:03:07 -0500
Subject: AHL Reference Sheet

Does anyone out there have the Azhanti High Lightning game?  In 
particular, I need a copy of the 8.5 x 11 reference card it had 
for small arms and combat.  I dug out my copy, and I've got everything 
but that, which is what I was looking for.  I like the AHL rules better 
for simple combat situations than the CT stuff, and I don't have any MT 
or TNE stuff.  I'll take it by fax, snailmail, or whatever.  

Thanks!

Matt McLaughlin

------------------------------

From: gdw.support@genie.com
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 96 01:55:00 UTC 0000
Subject: Sundry

Ethan Henry
> Wow. The demise of GDW may be the best thing to happen to
> TML - now Loren can answer all our questions about the evolution
> and development of Traveller from an inside viewpoint. Cool.

Well...one inside viewpoint, anyway. I do consider myself as a primary
source, however.

> Not that I think GDW going bust was good, but you've got to admit,
> Loren answers questions a lot more now...

I have more free time now.

> So, what I want to know is, were the Alien modules developed in the
> order they were released in?

Not really. Design of each race kind of proceeded in parallel, as we
(Marc, Frank, me, John Harshman, John Astell) worked on other stuff.
We had skull sessions, during which we proposed, discussed (and
sometimes discarded) ideas about each race. JH, me, and Bill Keith
would discuss the biology of an individual race, Bill would make some
sketches, and we'd send the whole thing through another round of skull
sessions.

Aside from the Aliens handout, a race would appear as a JTAS article,
then would be expanded to a full-sized module (by which time things
began to harden), but details were available as notes (and Bill's
drawings) for use in modules. Each author along the line added
details.

Steve Charlton

> So really what you mean to say was
> Loren ("_MY BACK_ knows what was left in the warehouse when we
> shut down") Wiseman

Substitute "_every fiber, joint, ligament, and muscle in my body_" for
"_MY BACK_" and I will agree.


- ------------------------------

William F. Hostman (responding to Stu):

>>What I want to know is who they patterned the K'kree after???  ;-)
>>
>>Stu
>IMHO, Probably the Mongols... The mongols ruled russia for over a century;
>they didn't bother with direct control... but the punishment for
>non-conformity to their government was the death of the "rebelious"
>subjects.

Mongols never entered my mind when working on the K'Kree, and I think
I am fairly safe in saying that they didn't enter Bill Keith's mind
either.

> So who are the Hivers modeled after?

Damfino. Why does _every_ race have to have a single inspiration?



------------------------------

From: Tom Miller <scouse@inforamp.net>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 22:41:47 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Name for E-Mag?

>  At the moment, I'm leaning toward "Freelance Traveller", but
>  I'm not enamored of it.  Another idea was "IV", pronounced
>  "four", but with the alternate possible meaning of
>  "Independent Voyager" or some such - but I'm not enamored of
>  that, either.

Ummm...I don't know.  I'd prefer something more to do with Traveller.  Ie.

X-Boat Online
The Traveller Gazette\Star\Times\Tribune, etc.

>  While you're at it, throw in a few titles for some of the
>  things you'd like to see as regularly appearing themes - kind
>  of like "Ship's Locker" and "Contact" were in the original
>  JTAS.

Editorial -- "Captain's Log"
In-Game News Reports -- "Across the Imperium"  
Fiction -- I agree with Joe's suggestions, "From the Front"
Weapons -- Again, Joe's is good, "Lock 'N' Load"

Thanks,

Peter Miller

	----------     This Message is From Either...   ----------

Tom Miller * Liverpool List * Genealogy * http://www.inforamp.net/~scouse/	
Peter Miller * New Frontiers * RPG * PBeMs * Homepage down temporarily *

	----------      E-MAIL: scouse@inforamp.net     ----------


------------------------------

From: eris@pen.net (Eris Reddoch)
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 96 21:05:06 -0600
Subject: The N and P brigade!

On 07/18/96 at 07:10 AM,  "Gerald S. Williams" <gsw@aloft.att.com>
said:

>On Thursday, July 18, eris@pen.net (Eris Reddoch) wrote: > Frankly an
>Orion style craft wouldn't be something I would want to see > used
>except as a last resort anyway.

>But it's our best hope if a bunch of elephantine alien invaders begin
>dropping rocks on us. :-)

FOOTFALL! <g>  A seriously good book.

But the movie I want to see is THOR'S HAMMER!

Eris
- -- 
- -----------------------------------------------------------
eris@pen.net (Eris Reddoch)    using MR/2 ICE #245
- -----------------------------------------------------------




------------------------------

End of Traveller-digest V1996 #268
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