From: [T--ew--d] at [aimnet.aimnet.com] (Joe Coleman) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.announce Subject: [FAQ]PLUS FAQ Date: Fri, 02 Feb 96 05:49:53 GMT From: [T--ew--d] at [aimnet.aimnet.com] (Joe Coleman) PLUS Frequently Asked Questions Version 1.0 January 20, 1996 (Answers by designer Joseph Steven Coleman, [radiojoe 5] at [aol.com]) Contents: -------- Q1. WHAT IS THE CURRENT VERSION OF PLUS? Q2. WHAT IS PLUS? Q3. WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE OF PLUS? Q4. WHAT GENRES WORK WITH PLUS? Q5. WHERE CAN I GET PLUS? Q6. WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE FTP CAPABILITY? Q7. CAN I CREATE PLUS-BASED ARTICLES AND POST OR OTHERWISE PUBLISH THEM? Q8. ARE THERE ANY PLUS ERRATA? Q9 WHERE CAN I DISCUSS PLUS? Q10. WHO DO I CONTACT ABOUT PLUS? Q1. WHAT IS THE CURRENT VERSION OF PLUS? ======================================== A1. January 22, 1995, Also called "4th Edition Revised. Previous versions were posted into the Designers and GIX Libraries at America Online's "Online Gaming Forum (OGF)." where a fair number of people contributed ideas for the revision and refinement of the system. PLUS was created to allow my own groups to play in a published game world with a very faulty system. We applied the system to our own worlds and other published worlds before issuing the original (severely flawed) drafts to the AOL Game Designers board and the Internet. Shortly after the release of 2nd Edition to AOL several valuable contributions were made to accelerate the development of PLUS to the current form. The current version is available in .pdf (Adobe Acrobat Portable Document format), .rtf (Rich Text Format) and .txt (plain ascii text). Separate files with the character sheet are also available in .pdf and . txt formats. Q2. WHAT IS PLUS? ================== A2. PLUS is role-playing game (face-to-face table gaming, that is - not a computer game or Live Role-playing Game). It is just a gaming system, primarily designed for advanced gamers to use in worlds published with unplayable systems. A certain amount of customization work is necessary in order to use PLUS, and many things are left unstated: the Gamemaster and the players will have to work together to create cooperative storytelling. PLUS 1.0 was released in the Winter of 1994/95, was the first role playing game released to the net in portable document format (.pdf) for use on Mac, DOS, Windows and UNIX systems. Previous games for cards and board structures had been released by Bone Games in the .pdf format, but those were not role playing games for dice, pencil and paper. Through the feedback of gamemasters on the net, and through playtesters at conventions and in local groups, PLUS 2 (March 1995) and PLUS 3 (July 1995) were released with corrections, revisions and expansions. PLUS is based on 'pools' of dice in seven characteristics, five perceptions, an open number of athletics, occupations, specialties and weapons. An average person, with average education and average physical skills, is considered to have two dice (2d6) to roll in an ability or a skill that is commonly available in a culture. For example, unless you decide to create a Specialty to drive a car, you would have 2d6 to roll to succeed. In PLUS you show higher levels of skills with additional dice. The number of additional dice is determined by the game level and identified in the Plus 4th Edition Basic Rules. When playing PLUS you want to roll high on two or more six sided dice. A suggested target number scale is provided in the 4th Edition Revised Basic Rules, but the targets may be modified by the Gamemaster to suit a specific gaming situation. A series of possible dice roll results make it possible for the player to re-roll duplicate numbers (Fate Dice), discard die rolls resulting in "1" (Trash Dice), and modifiers to the ease or difficulty of the moment, supplied by the GM (Gamemaster's Dice). If using the Fate Dice rule a player re-rolls duplicate dice and all "1"s are the result, the roll has become Toxic and there is a negative effect to the roll, determined by the Gamemaster. PLUS was written by, and is copyright by, Joseph Steven Coleman. Much valuable aid was received from many people on rec.games.design, most of whom are credited in the actual PLUS Basic Rules. ------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: We are looking for a new name for this system because of trouble with the trademark registration. You may earn a permanent part of the royalties if you make a suggestion we can actually use. Write for more information. Q3. WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE OF PLUS? ======================================== A3. PLUS is designed for new players to learn as a beginning dice-moderated role playing game system, and for advanced players who can work cooperatively with the Gamemaster for an enjoyable gaming session. Q4. WHAT GENRES WORK WITH PLUS? ================================ A4. To date PLUS has been played with a variety of settings and several designers, publishers and groups have expressed interest in releasing a net version of their games using PLUS. (*) indicates that this setting is planned for release. PLUS has been run successfully with contemporary, super hero, western and science fiction settings. Three design teams are working on new worlds for PLUS and licenses have been granted or obtained for PLUS versions of several games published by other RPG houses. These will begin with Version 2.0 of this FAQ. Q5. WHERE CAN I GET PLUS? ======================== A5. PLUS is available via anonymous ftp from: Site: catalina.opt-sci.arizona.edu/pub/PLUS Site: users.aol.com/talewind/private/PLUS There are several formats available: There is a plain text version - P4.txt and P4Sheet.txt There is a Rich Text Format version - P4.rtf There is a Portable Document Format version - P4.pdf and P4Sheet.pdf For these you will need Adobe's free Acrobat Reader for Mac, DOS, Windows and UNIX system. **THIS PROVIDES EXCELLENT PRINT OUT ON POSTSCRIPT PRINTERS.** There is a .zip file with the .pdf files - P4.ZIP Ask your sys admin if you don't know how to ftp or unzip files. Q6. WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE FTP CAPABILITY? ========================================= A6. You have four choices. However, as of this date, I don't yet guarantee the latest version from these sources. 1) You can get PLUS by e-mail. Write to: [games request] at [monosys.com] Simply send a blank message with a subject of HELP - you will get an answer on how to get FUDGE (and many other games). 2) You can buy a copy from me. A clean, docutech version is available for $4 plus $1 postage and handling from: Talewind Print & Production P O Box 12631 Berkeley, CA 94712-2631 Q7. CAN I CREATE PLUS-BASED ARTICLES AND POST OR OTHERWISE PUBLISH THEM? ===================================================================== A7. We encourage the development but before you post the document the net for free distribution, contact us for a license - it's quick, it's easy and for free web distribution, it is free. If you plan to publish a game based on these rules you must first have a license and a royalty agreement in place. Write: [t--ew--d] at [aol.com] Q8. ARE THERE ANY PLUS ERRATA? =============================== A8. There are no errata at this time, but that may change. There is a ¶PLUS COMPANION_ in the works with optional rules and suggestions from players and gamemasters. That will be announced in the next version of this FAQ. Q9 WHERE CAN I DISCUSS PLUS? =============================== A9. Usenet discussion should be on rec.games.frp.misc - PLUS is a genuine RPG, and deserves to be discussed there. Simply put the the word PLUS in the subject line and have fun! If you really want to do a major redesign of some section of PLUS, you might try posting to rec.games.design. There is also no PLUS mailing list at this time. Q10. WHO DO I CONTACT ABOUT PLUS? ================================= A10. The author can be reached through [radiojoe 5] at [aol.com], and all business correspondence should be addressed to [t--ew--d] at [aol.com.] -- Joseph Steven Coleman [t--ew--d] at [aimnet.com] * @aol.com * [joseph coleman] at [bmug.org] ----------- http://users.aimnet.com/talewind/Top.html ----------- ---------------------------------------------------------- [t--ew--d] at [aimnet.com] [RadioJoe 5] at [aol.com] [joseph coleman] at [bmug.org] ******************************************************************* * Moderator: Coyt D. Watters [watters 10] at [osu.edu] * * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * * Disclaimer: Postings are checked for relevance to the charter, * * not for accuracy of information. * *******************************************************************