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Subject: [rec.games.frp.*] Frequently asked questions Part 1
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Archive-name: games.roleplay/part2
Last-Modified: 10/7/92

* Asterisks denote new/updated items. *

* Please also see the DND FAQ on rec.games.frp.dnd, the Shadowrun FAQ, and
the GURPS FAQ on .misc.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON REC.GAMES.FRP HIERARCHY

This posting contains some of the most common questions that get posted
in the roleplaying discussion groups, at least those which have stock
answers and which aren't answered by the regular postings on
news.announce.newusers.

Questions Answered:

 1:  What are the rec.games.frp.* newsgroups for? What are their charters?
 2:  How do I get hold of a copy of the Net.<whatever>.Book?
 3:  What is the address for the <whatever> mailing list?
 4:  How do I access the <whoever> Games BBS?
 5:  Are there any clubs for roleplayers besides the one run by TSR, Inc?
 6:  Does anybody know what E. Gary Gygax is doing these days?
 7:  Does anybody know what Steve Perrin/Luise Perenne/Chaosium are doing
     these days?
 8:  What is Fluff?
 9:  What is this rec.games.rpg newsgroup I keep seeing mentioned?
10:  What's a Cthulhu?
11:  I want to sell some of my old game stuff. How should I go about it?
12:  What is Munchkinism? What does the Wizard of Oz have to do with
     roleplaying games?
13:  I've run out of adventure ideas for my game. Does anybody have ideas
     for new plots?
14:  What game magazines are out there?
15:  I've heard of the Arduin Grimoire but am unable to find it. Where is it?
16:  What is MONTY HAUL?*
17:  I want a group dedicated to my favorite game, how do I do it?*
* - new or updated items

1: What are the rec.games.frp.* newsgroups for? What are their charters?

NAME:      rec.games.frp.advocacy
CHARTER:   Frequently discussion on rec.games.frp amounts to vigorously
           overstated disagreement about the quality or lack thereof of
           a particular game system or game company. This unmoderated
           discussion newsgroup will give readers of the rec.games.frp
           hierarchy an outlet for such material. This newsgroup would
           be expected to hold such lines of discussion as: Champions
           versus GURPS; AD&Dv1 versus AD&Dv2; AD&D stinks; class
           systems versus skill based systems; game critiques wanted;
           mine are bigger than yours; and so on.

NAME:      rec.games.frp.announce (Moderated)
MODERATOR: Coyt Watters <[e-mail]>
           backup by Joshua Levy <[e-mail]>
CHARTER:   This group is intended for all announcements relating to
           roleplaying games. This may include, but is not limited to,
           game release announcements, pbem announcements, convention
           announcements, and any other events. Discussion of material
           in this newsgroup should be done in the appropriate
           roleplaying discussion group. Please direct followup lines as
           appropriate.

NAME:      rec.games.frp.archives (Moderated)
MODERATOR: Mitch Gold <[e-mail]>
           backup by Steve Mansfield <[e-mail]>
CHARTER:   This newsgroup will serve as a temporary archive for postings
           that should be archived on one of the anonymous ftp or
           mail-server sites, and which do not belong in one of the
           other roleplaying newsgroups. Therefore only finished work
           such as net.books, campaign background, convention modules,
           the tabolport project, fiction, poetry, compilations, and so
           on should be posted here. This newsgroup is not for
           discussion purposes, and discussion of anything in this
           newsgroup should take place in the appropriate roleplaying
           discussion group. Please direct followup lines appropriately.

NAME:      rec.games.frp.dnd
CHARTER:   This unmoderated discussion newsgroup is for discussion of
           the official rules and settings of the D&D family of
           roleplaying games, produced by TSR, Inc., including
           Collector's Edition Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), Basic D&D,
           Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D), and AD&D Second
           Edition. This proposed newsgroup would include discussion of
           TSR's rules and products and compatible products, such as:
           character classes; character races; monsters; magic spells;
           weapons; Greyhawk; the Forgotten Realms; the Known World;
           Dark Sun; Spelljammer; RavenLoft; Hollow World; City State of
           the Invincible Overlord; and so on. Crossposting between this
           group and other groups in the rec.games.frp hierarchy is
           discouraged, however issues of general interest that happen
           to involve a D&D rulebook or setting are more than welcome.

NAME:      rec.games.frp.marketplace
CHARTER:   This unmoderated newsgroup is intended to hold For Sale and
           Wanted postings for roleplaying game materials.

NAME:      rec.games.frp.misc
CHARTER:   This is a discussion group for all aspects of roleplaying
           games which are not subsumed within another rec.games.frp.*
           newsgroup. It fully replaces rec.games.frp within the
           roleplaying newsgroup hierarchy. The acronym "frp" refers to
           Fantasy Role-Playing, but this does not mean that the scope
           of the group is restricted to pseudo medieval settings where
           magic is common and powerful. The common misuse of the word
           "fantasy" comes from the marketing distinction between the
           literary genres of science fiction and fantasy. Fantasy
           actually means anything that is set in a time or place that
           is **in some essential way** unlike our own.  Science Fiction
           fits this definition of fantasy, as do other genres including
           Horror, Tolkeinesque High Fantasy, and Westerns. Lines of
           discussion in this newsgroup can be expected to include,
           among other topics: roleplaying advice; gamemastering advice;
           reviews of roleplaying products; scenario ideas; rules;
           errata; gaming anecdotes; and many peripherally connected
           subjects. Crossposting between this group and other
           roleplaying discussion groups is to be discouraged.


2: How do I get hold of a copy of the Net.<whatever>.Book?

A:     First off, thanks for reading the administrative articles before
       posting. One of the administrative articles is entitled
       "Net.*.Books" and contains details of how to get at the Net
       Books, suprisingly enough. Please check in there before posting a
       request to rec.games.frp.misc.


3: What is the address for the <whatever> mailing list?

A:     Once again you'll find the answer in another of the
       administrative articles, in this case the two part "FRP Mailing
       Lists and Digests" posting. If the answer isn't in there, go
       ahead and ask the net at large - if you get results, please let
       us know so we can update the postings.


4: How do I access the <whoever> Games BBS?

A:     First off, look in the "BBS's of interest to gamers" posting,
       where a number of games companies' BBS's are listed.


5: Are there any clubs for roleplayers besides the one run by TSR, Inc?

A:     Yes. There are several. The National Association for the
       Advancement of Role Playing (NAARP) is nominally an association
       for the USA only, but accepts members from other countries.
       CARpg, which is associated with the NAARP, is the Committee for
       the Advancement of Roleplaying games, and is a strong pro-gaming
       voice in the fight against BADD and other groups that think that
       roleplaying is evil.  The following is some info for the NAARP.

       The National Association for the Advancement of Role-Playing, Inc
       is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the
       hobby of role-playing.  NAARP provides its members with an annual
       membership directory, so game players can contact each other.
       NAARP publishes a quarterly newsletter featuring information on
       upcoming releases from the industry, and news about conventions.
       NAARP is also dedicated to educating the public about the hobby
       through tournaments and public discussions.

       If you'd like a membership form and more information, send an
       SASE to

             NAARP, Inc
             P.O.Box 2752
             Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2752

       or if you have specific questions E-Mail to

       USENET  chatham![e-mail]

       WWIV Net  94@9955


6: Does anybody know what E. Gary Gygax is doing these days?

A:     As of May 17, 1992 EGG has completed a multi-genre fantasy
       roleplaying game for Game Designer's Workshop to be called
       Dangerous Dimensions. June 5: The name was changed to Dangerous
       Journeys, rumors were that TSR had some problems with the "D&D"
       abbreviation. It has been released and is now on the market.

7: Does anybody know what Steve Perrin/Luise Perenne/Chaosium are doing
   these days?

A:     Gossip follows:

       Call of Cthulhu is still their best selling game. Avalon Hill has
       a new editor for RuneQuest, Ken Rolston, who is planning on
       publishing several *quality* supplements in 1992.

       As of summer '91, Chaosium saw a reorg in its management
       structure.  The nomenclature now conforms to present day business
       conventions.  Lynn Willis is now CEO of the company, with Greg
       Stafford stepping back as  President, now working under the title
       of Chief of Design.  Charlie Krank is now manager of marketing
       and sales.

       Yes, the two are man and wife, but still, her name is Perenne.

       Steve Perrin left Chaosium after the failure of SuperWorld to be
       able to work for different companies on a free-lance basis.  He's
       done some stuff for TSR (Such as the Lankhmar products), and you
       may find his name on products from other companies. He's also
       rumored to have done some teevee writing (kidvid), and now to be
       working in the computer game industry.  He may have done work for
       Spectrum Holobyte. He is still involved with gaming (though his
       company contract prohibited him from doing any professional work
       in it) and is part of the con committee for DunDraCon every year.

       Ran into Steve and Luis Perrin at the Oak, Ash, and Thorn concert
       at Freight and Salvage a few weeks ago.  They're old friends of
       my wife from her early SCA days.  If I remember right, Steve said
       he was writing material for a computer games company and Luis was
       doing some sort of commercial art. But I may not have that right
       in detail...

       Well, when I'm in the SF Bay Area, I game with Steve Perrin and
       his "friday night gaming crew".  They mostly play Champions; the
       group is pretty much "all GM's" at this point, so they rotate
       Game Mastering every couple of weeks.  About half the DunDraCon
       committee is in the gaming group, I'd estimate.

       scoops are from:
       [e-mail] (Henk Langeveld)
       [e-mail] (Wayne Shaw)
       [e-mail] (Nicolai Shapero)
       Ed Allen  [e-mail]
       Donald Tsang [e-mail]


8: What is Fluff?

A:     Fluff is the polite net.word for stories based on roleplaying
       campaigns. Net roleplayers are violently divided on the quality
       and utility of stories on the network. If you post your stories
       to rec.games.frp.misc please put STORY: at the beginning of the
       subject line so that those who hate fluff can avoid it and those
       who love it can find it, and use a consistent title so that those
       who like or dislike your stories can identify them quickly.

9: What is this rec.games.rpg newsgroup I keep seeing mentioned?

A:     rec.games.rpg is a defunct newsgroup that was created (amongst
       some controversy) a few years ago and then promptly deleted from
       most of the news sites in the world. However, some sites still
       carry it. It only propagates to 20% or so of the net.world. If
       you want to discuss roleplaying games but are not interested in
       the "fantasy" genre your best bet is to participate on
       rec.games.frp.misc instead of trying to use rec.games.rpg, which
       reaches only a fraction of the readership of the official groups.

10: What's a Cthulhu?

A:      H.P.Lovecraft wrote a number of scary science fiction stories
        in the early twentieth century. These stories, along with others
        written in conscious imitation of Lovecraft by like minded
        writers, have come to be known as the "Cthulhu Mythos" of
        stories after Cthulhu, who is an awful, terrible being from the
        stars who sleeps in his temple in a sunken island much like
        Atlantis in the seas of the Earth.

11: I want to sell some of my old game stuff. How should I go about it?

A11:    Post to rec.games.frp.marketplace. There are several things that
        you should do if you are selling items through news: (1)
        describe each item you have for sale, including complete,
        accurate name and publication information (2) if you have firm
        prices or minimum bids for items, put them in your posting. (3)
        supply a valid internet return address.

12: What is Munchkinism? What does the Wizard of Oz have to do with
    roleplaying games?

A12:   Munchkinism is similar to "Monty Haul" gaming; however it involves
       playing at incredible power levels purely for the sake of
       watching the terrain get blown away by player characters who
       are unstoppable.  Munchkinism also involves "rules rape," wherein
       players milk every advantage out of the rules.  Often a munchkin
       will carry a favorite character from game to game, usually with
       the maximum allowable ability scores, skill ratings, etc - and
       enough hardware/magic to destroy the planet four times over.

13: I've run out of adventure ideas for my game. Does anybody have ideas
    for new plots?

A13:   There are only so many times you can use the same plot pattern
       before it grows tiresome. So use different plot patterns.

       This is condensed from Georges Polti's _The 36 Dramatic Plots_.

       Each short plot description starts with the title of the plot
       pattern. After a hyphen the main characters to be found in the
       plot are given, separated by commas.

       Supplication - Persecutor, Suppliant, a Power in Authority
       Deliverance - Unfortunates, Threatener, Rescuer
       Revenge - Avenger, Criminal
       Vengeance by Family upon Family - Avenging Kinsman, Guilty
          Kinsman, Relative
       Pursuit - Fugitive from Punishment, Pursuer
       Victim of Cruelty or Misfortune - Unfortunates, Master or Unlucky
          Person
       Disaster - Vanquished Power, Victorious Power or Messenger
       Revolt - Tyrant, Conspirator(s)
       Daring Enterprise - Bold Leader, Goal, Adversary
       Abduction - Abductor, Abducted, Guardian
       Enigma  - Interrogator, Seeker, Problem
       Obtaining - Two or more Opposing Parties, Object, maybe an
          Arbitrator
       Familial Hatred - Two Family Members who hate each other
       Familial Rivalry - Preferred Kinsman, Rejected Kinsman, Object
       Murderous Adultery - Two Adulterers, the Betrayed
       Madness - Madman, Victim
       Fatal Imprudence - Imprudent person, Victim or lost object
       Involuntary Crimes of Love - Lover, Beloved, Revealer
       Kinsman Kills Unrecognized Kinsman - Killer, Unrecognized Victim,
          Revealer
       Self Sacrifice for an Ideal - Hero, Ideal, Person or Thing
          Sacrificed
       Self Sacrifice for Kindred - Hero, Kinsman, Person or Thing
          Sacrificed
       All Sacrificed for Passion - Lover, Object of Passion, Person or
          Thing Sacrificed
       Sacrifice of Loved Ones - Hero, Beloved Victim, Need for
          Sacrifice
       Rivalry Between Superior and Inferior - Superior, Inferior,
          Object
       Adultery - Deceived Spouse, Two Adulterers
       Crimes of Love - Lover, Beloved, theme of Dissolution
       Discovery of Dishonor of a Loved One - Discoverer, Guilty One
       Obstacles to Love - Two Lovers, Obstacle
       An Enemy Loved - Beloved Enemy, Lover, Hater
       Ambition - An Ambitious Person, Coveted Thing, Adversary
       Conflict with a God - Mortal, Immortal
       Mistaken Jealousy - Jealous One, Object of Jealousy, Supposed
          Accomplice, Author of Mistake
       Faulty Judgement - Mistaken One, Victim of Mistake, Author of
          Mistake, Guilty Person
       Remorse - Culprit, Victim, Interrogator
       Recovery of a Lost One - Seeker, One Found
       Loss of Loved Ones - Kinsman Slain, Kinsman Witness, Executioner

14: What game magazines are out there?

A14:   Here is a limited list. I know there are more, but these are all
       available at the addresses given.

          White Wolf Magazine
          4153 Indian Manor Drive
          Stone Mountain, GA 30083
          Bi-monthly, $25/yr US, $40/yr Canada, $52/yr Overseas
          404/292-1819; FAX: [phone]

          Alarums and Excursions
          Attn: Lee Gold
          2965 Alla Road
          Los Angeles, CA 90066
          Monthly, Postage + $1.50 per issue
          310/306-7456

          Polyhedron Newszine
          RPGA Network Headquarters
          POB 515
          Lake Geneva, WI 53147

          Silver Griffin
          Attn: Devlin Janax
          POB 1751
          Saint Paul, MN 55101

          The Gamer
          127 N. Madison St, Suite 202
          Pasadena, CA 91101
          818/795-8130
          Bi-monthly, $15/yr; $25/yr Canada or Mexico; $40/yr elsewhere

          Dragon (US)
          POB 756
          Lake Geneva, WI 53147
          Monthly, $30/yr; $50/yr anywhere other than US, Canada, or Europe
          Ph: 414/248-3625; Fax: [phone]

          Dragon (Europe)
          120 Church End, Cherry Hinton,
          Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom
          Monthly, 16 pounds/yr UK, 24 pounds/yr Non-UK Europe
          Ph: [phone]

          The Unspeakable Oath
          Pagan Publishing
          1409 Wilson Ave.
          Columbia, MO 65201
          Quarterly, $4 per issue
          Inet: [e-mail]

          Tales of the Reaching Moon: THE RuneQuest(tm) Magazine/Fanzine
          Quarterly, price varies by country
          UK: David Hall, 21 Stephenson Court, Osborne St, Slough,
            Berkshire, SL1 1TN, #1.75 per issue, or #5 for three
          Au: Michael O'Brien, 2/33 Carween Ave., Mitcham 3132, Victoria
            $5 (AU) per issue
          US & Canada: David Gadbois, PO Box 49475, Austin, TX 78765, USA,
            [e-mail], $3 (US) per issue
          Germany: Dr. Lutz Reimers-Rawcliffe, Theodor-Heuss-Ring 1,
            D-5000 Koln 1
          Norway: Lars-Roger Moe, Hans Hagerupsgt. 1, 7012, Trondheim
          Sweden: Jussi Hyvonen, Henniksdalsringen 65, S-131 32, Nacka
          Finland: Lauri Tudeer, Fantasiapelit Tudeer Oy, Laulurastaantie 1,
            01450 Vantaa

          Vortext
          Vortext Publishing
          5506 Beaudry St #C
          EmeryVille CA 94608 USA
          Quarterly, US$2.75 per issue, $10 subs. ( 4 issues )

          Abyss
          Ragnarok Enterprises
          POB 140333,
          Austin TX 78714 USA
          Quarterly(?), US$2 per iss, $10/6, $18/12, $25/18 iss
          Ph: 1-(512)-472-6535

          Dungeon
          Dungeon Adventures
          TSR, Inc.
          POB 5695
          Boston MA 02206
          Bimonthly, US$3.75 per iss, $18/yr subs

          Interface
          R. Talsorian Games
          P.O.Box 7356
          Berkeley, CA  94707
          One year subscription is $16 USA in USA and Canada, $26 elsewhere.

          The Eternal Soldier Newsletter
          Tom Harris
          1837 Paddington
          Naperville, IL  60563
          Internet: [e-mail]
          The Eternal Soldier Newsletter is a Twilight 2000 /Merc 2000 based
          amateur newsletter published with the help of GDW.  The editor Tom
          Harris has a net address and will accept submissions for publication
          via e-mail Articles regarding Dark Conspiracy and Cadillacs and
          Dinosaurs will be accepted as well.  S-mail address is 1837
          Paddington, Naperville, IL 60563.


          Space Gamer
          P.O. Box 11424
          Burbank, CA 91510-1424
          [phone]


15: I've heard of the Arduin Grimoire but am unable to find it. Where is it?

A15:    When Dave Hargrave passed away the rights to the Arduin line
        were split between two companies.  The two companies' addresses
        are as follows:

          Dragon Tree Press
          118 Sayles Blvd
          Abilene, TX 79605

        Has rights to Arduin Grimoires IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII (or 5-8)

          Grimoire Games
          POB 4363
          Berkeley, CA 94704

        Has rights to the original Arduin Trilogy, and the Arduin
        Adventure, which turns Arduin from a D&D supplement (WHICH IT
        REALLY IS, down to reproducing the typos in the original D&D
        monster listings) to a free-standing game.


16:     What (or who) is Monty Haul?

A16:    Monty Hall was the host of an American game show called
        _Let's Make a Deal_, which was on in the 60s and 70s. People
        would dress up in stupid costumes and come onto the show
        and Monty would hand them money then talk them into trading
        it for whatever's behind curtain number one, number two, or
        number three, or you can keep the money, or you can take this
        box right here. He would keep on getting them to trade, some
        times letting them see what they had so far and sometimes not,
        until they declined to trade any more. Sometimes they would
        win a car, a hawaiian vacation, an airstream mobile home, and
        other times they would win a goat, a bucket of rubber monkeys,
        or a year's supply of automotive wax. The prizes were random,
        sometimes good, sometimes bad. Gary Gygax dubbed a style of
        play of D&D where the gamemaster hides treasures behind some
        doors and monsters behind others Monty Haul style, punning
        on the game show's host.

17:     I want a group dedicated to my favorite game, how do I do it?*

A17a:   The simple answer is not to do it at all, you'll save yourself a lot
        of grief and pain if you learn to use a KILLFILE to limit the volume
        of information you receive.  The current hierarchy was forged after a
        long discussion and massive flaming.  If you insist on trying, please
        read the guidelines for group creation over on news.answers.  In a
        nutshell, you have to start a request for discussion on news.groups,
        which must be at least two weeks long.  In the rec.games.frp.* is was
        considerably longer, because of all the bugs which were ironed out.
        After getting an acceptable charter and namespace figured out, then
        a VOTE must be run.  This vote has to meet certain criteria to
        fulfill the guidelines for group creation.  If, and only when the
        vote is considered VALID, i.e. there are no legitimate complaints
        about the voting, the new group is created.  ALT groups are easier to
        start, because there is no network control over ALT groups, however
        ALT is only carried on about 10% of the net.

A17b:   Check the fourth and fifth parts of this informational bulletin,
        ROLEPLAYING MAILING LISTS AND DIGESTS,  there is a good chance the
        system you want to discuss already has a mailing list dedicated to
        it.  Mailing lists send the postings directly to your mailer,
        rather than reading them through netnets.