From: <[M--QU--D] at [miavx1.acs.muohio.edu]> Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.announce Subject: [faq] REC.GAMES.FRP.SUPER-HEROES FAQ v4.4 Date: Sat, 11 May 96 04:43:32 GMT REC.GAMES.FRP.SUPER-HEROES FAQ v4.4 Last Change: 5/8/96 by Joshua Marquart (Cheese) with a lot of help [m--qu--d] at [miavx1.muohio.edu] http://www.muohio.edu/~marquajd (UNDER RECONSTRUCTION) Welcome to rec.games.frp.super-heroes (r.g.f.s-h): Hi there! Interested in Super Hero Role Playing Games? Then this newsgroup is for you. It was created to discuss super-hero RPGs. Below are some of the more 'Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQ) on or about the Newsgroup. |ON UPDATES: All changes since the last FAQ have a vertical bar on the |left side of the message. DISCLAIMER: This FAQ is Copyright Joshua Marquart, 1996. All of the role-playing game systems mentioned in this FAQ are trademarks of their respective companies, and the owner of this FAQ does not contest ownership of any of them nor of the term 'superhero' which is a trademark held jointly by both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. (If anyone can add anything to this, you're most obliged to do so -JM) CONTENTS: ========= (1) Is there a Brief History of this Newsgroup? (a.k.a the Rationale) (2) What's with the "NAME" of the Newsgroup (3) What can I Post and not Post on r.g.f.s-h? (4) Are there any Super-hero Gaming Mailing Lists? (5) Are there any FTP Sites for Super-Hero Gaming? (6) Are there any World Wide Web sites on Super-Hero Gaming? (7) Are there any MUDS or MUSHes for Super-Hero Gaming? (8) What are some good Non Gaming Related Super-Hero Books? (9) Can You Answer These Commonly Asked Questions? a) I heard some Super-Hero games were out of print, is this true? b) Where can I get copies of out of print Super-Hero stuff? c) What are the E-Mail Addresses for Super-Hero Gaming Companies? d) Where can I find some 1" hex maps? | e) Who does Super-Hero miniatures? And for which games or | organizations? f) Could we have pointers to back issues of Space Gamer and the Dragon? (10) Who are the People That Helped Cheese out with the FAQ? (1) Is there a Brief History of this Newsgroup? (a.k.a the Rationale) ====================================================================== Rec.games.frp.super-heroes (r.g.f.s-h) was created because there were (and still are) a large volume of posts at rec.games.frp.misc which drown out many topics, getting them lost in the shuffle of a million billion posts, and only the nitpicky (like myself) would find and reply to them. Therefore, Super Hero gamers in r.g.f.misc had discussed the desire for creation of a Super Hero RPG newsgroup for some time and the general consensus was that one was needed. I volunteered to be the Proponent, became the Proponent, and rec.games.frp.super-heroes was the result. When people begin to gripe about stuff that goes wrong with the newsgroup (such as messages gone awry (like that Christian RPG thing and the whole 'Did YOU Like Generation X?' thread)) I post a kind of 'SHUT UP!' message to the group, trying to keep the peace and such. I try my best. (2) What's with the "NAME" of the Newsgroup ============================================ |In the original straw poll, the name chosen was r.g.f.supers. David |Lawrence (who I was told was one of the proverbial net-gods and whose |suggestions should be considered seriously) suggested we change it to |the more descriptive 'r.g.f.super-heroes' which is more descriptive than |.supers and isn't trademarked like the term 'superhero' is. | |At least one person objected to the hyphen. However, the term |'superhero' is trademarked by Marvel and DC and until the position of the |Net with regards to intellectual property rights is settled by a few |more court cases (ones that we don't want to be part of), using the |hyphen keeps us safe. |Due to some dissention about the form of the newsgroup name having the |word super-hero hyphenated, Donald Tsang has stated that: "In six months (specifically, on April 3rd), I'm starting the process to change the name of the group, probably to .superhero, unless someone else volunteers." |It's now May 8th, 1996. Donald has been contacted. (3) What can I Post and not Post on r.g.f.s-h? =============================================== Rec.games.frp.super-heroes is for the discussion of role-playing games which are oriented to the super-hero genre, including but not limited to Champions, DC Heroes RPG, Marvel Superheroes, GURPS Supers, Heroes Unlimited, and Villains & Vigilantes. If you are posting for a specific game, and not just general discussion, try to utilize the following rationale for easier reading: Game System Start your SUBJECT line with this Abbreviation Champions HERO: or CHAMPS: DC Heroes DC: or DCH: Marvel Supers MSH: or MARVEL: Villains & Vigilantes V&V: GURPS Supers GURPS: (should x-post to r.g.f.gurps) Heroes Unlimited HU: Heroes & Heroines H&H: Street Fighter SF: or STREET: SuperGame SG: Golden Heroes GH: Living Legends LL: Modern Knights MK: Superhero 2044 SH2044: or 2044: SuperBabes/FemForce RPG SB: or FF: FUDGE FUDGE: Superworld SW: ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS for the above? APPROPRIATE DISCUSSIONS INCLUDE: Discussions of game mechanics. Postings of character statistic "write-ups". NO PUBLISHED STATISTICS, THOUGH. Copying and distributing PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED stats for established heroes/villains is a copyright no-no. Postings of the contents of various FTP sites which contain super-hero rpg files. Discussions of various "home-made" super-hero game worlds. Discussions of Adventure writeups and descriptions. Discussions and reviews of new (and old) Super-Hero RPG products. Announcements of superhero-related conventions, if they pertain to role-playing. Discussion of the art and techniques of being a GM (Note that while some concepts are genre-independant, discussions should preferrably focus on those aspects directly related to Super Hero RPGs) Cross-posted discussions that have drifted well away from relevance to Super Hero RPGs And any postings related to the above. INAPPROPRIATE DISCUSSIONS INCLUDE: Anything about computers and computer related products, not including those that have to do with Super Hero RPGs, such as the Heromaker Software, or discussions of topics such as "how to handle characters with very high hacking skills" or "what sort of software would be useful for a superteam to have on their base computer?". Discussions about comic-books or superheroes in general, not pertaining to role-playing games and such postings should be re-directed to the appropriate rec.arts.comics newsgroup. Discussions about discussions about discussions. Tangential discussions about movies, television, comics, personal attacks on posters, or anything else that does not /directly/ tie into role-playing game systems in the super hero genre are inappropriate, and should be taken elsewhere. ABOUT OTHER MEDIA: Appropriate movies and television posts include posts concerning Super Hero RPG characters based upon television or movie characters, such as the recent DC Heroes E-Mail posts about character statistics for Terminators and Gilligan & the Castaways. ON ADVERTISEMENT: Advertisement is limited to only the selling of Super Hero RPG related items and the announcement of Super Hero gaming conventions. Advertisements (especially mass commercial advertisements) for products that are unrelated to superhero RPGs are not appropriate for this newsgroup. ON BINARY FILES: No binary posts are allowed, but if you are posting a Super Hero RPG oriented file SOMEWHERE, drop a POST saying where it'll show up. We don't allow binary posts for many reasons, but the foremost reasons are that #1) This is not a Binary Newsgroup, and #2) Many people pay good money to read their news and don't want to read a binary if it's not necessary. (4) Are there any Super-Hero Gaming Mailing Lists? ================================================== There exist 2 high-volume E-Mail Mailing Lists for the discussion of 2 different Super Hero oriented role-playing games. Many members dropped from these lists because they couldn't handle the mailbox overflow. I should know, I was a key player in the creation of the one for DC-Heroes. There is also a mailing list for running PBEM's based on the Marvel Universe. These lists still exist and they are: The Champions E-Mailing List ---------------------------- How to Join: Send email to [champ request] at [omg.org] (this goes to a human, not a listserv or majordomo program) and ask to be added to the list. Postings may be sent to either [champ l] at [omg.org] or [hero l] at [omg.org], but *please* try not to send subscription requests there--it annoys those who are already subscribed. The DC Heroes RPG E-Mailing List -------------------------------- How to Join: (since May, 1996): send a message to [m--r--o] at [idyllmtn.com] With a blank subject line and a body consisting of: subscribe dc-heroes OR unsubscribe dc-heroes Depending on what you want to do. Postings may be sent to [dc heroes] at [idyllmtn.com], but *please* try not to send subscription requests there--it annoys those who are already subscribed. The Marvel PBEM E-Mailing List ------------------------------ How to Join: Send a message to [m--r--o] at [stargame.org] in the body of the message put sub marvel-rpg Send messages to the list through [marvel r p g] at [stargame.org] It's a blast, they've got a bunch of games running. GURPSnet E-Mailing List for GURPS --------------------------------- GURPSnet is the GURPS mailing list, run by Sean (s and s enterprises) Barrett. It covers the entire GURPS spectrum, including Supers. [GURPSnet l] at [io.com] To Subscribe, send a message to: [owner gurpsnet l] at [io.com] Due to mail-bombings, no one can subscribe without the owner's case-by-case permission. (5) Are there any FTP Sites for Super-Hero Gaming? =================================================== For DC Heroes there is: ftp.indirect.com in pub\rpg\DC\ is the "Official" DC Heroes E-Mailing List Directory with TONS of files for DC and some other games. Get dclist.txt for more info. Very soon to be updated and revised. There are several sites for Champions: There are several sites for Champions: 1. Potemkin, ftp://ftp.cs.pdx.edu/pub/frp/hero/ is the biggest HERO ftp site. It is maintained by [m--e] at [cs.pdx.edu], though he is a Fantasy HERO, not Champions, fan. 2. The UMichigan archive, ftp://ftp.umd.umich.edu/pub/frp/champs/ is mostly an incomplete copy of the PDX site above. 3. ftp://ftp.mpgn.com/Gaming/Hero/ has a Lotus character sheet only. 4. ftp://ftp.shore.intercom.net/pub/usr/ajhobbs has 2 files. 5. The Red October semi-official HERO BBS bulletin board ftp site is ftp://october.com/e/MAX/FILE/PUBLIC/. They tend to move it around occasionally, (it was at /c/... a few months ago), so you may have to root about in ftp://october.com. (6) Are there any World Wide Web (WWW) sites on Super-Hero Gaming? =================================================================== 1) Cheese's Homepage (Which has the latest version of this FAQ and the DC Heroes RPG E-Mailing List FAQ, including links to the DC Heroes FTP Site and rec.games.frp.super-heroes) http://www.muohio.edu/~marquajd/shfaq.html THIS PAGE IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION 2) Amy G. Crittendon(Theala Sildorian)'s Unofficial Champions Home Page, at http://www.intercom.net/user/theala/hero.html, has lots of HERO Links, Author: [t--ea--a] at [shore.intercom.net.] 3) Stainless Steel Rat, [r--i--x] at [ccs.neu.edu], is the keeper of the latest version of the HERO/Champions FAQ at http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/ratinox/champions.html. 4) http://www.america.net/~cypriot/gaming, The Hero Gaming Group page, has Play-by-EMail (PBEM) links and 2 Excel and one IBM-PC Champions character generator. 5) A related page, http://www.america.net/~cypriot/gaming/pbem00.html, The Heroes of Hasting, has rounds of PBEM Champions adventure. 6) Jonathan Sari's, [s--r--e] at [cqs.washington.edu], Hero Archive, http://www.cqs.washington.edu:80/~surge/gaming/hero/ has lots of Champions files. The general archive, http://www.cqs.washington.edu:80/~surge/gaming/, has even more stuff including the BrandX free supers game, but it is even less organized. 7) Aaron Allston's home page, http://www.io.com/~allston, has Champions humor and HERO rules errata from one of the best HERO authors. 8) David Lightfinger's Home Page, http://www.tcp.com/~dll, has his "Murderers' Row" "Dark Champions" characters and articles. 9) Jason Winter's Gaming Archives, http://www.d.umn.edu/~jwinter/rpg.html, has six Champions characters and some useful humor. 10) http://newton.physics.ucla.edu/~loritsch/haymaker/hay08.html is an article on Earthquakes for Champions from Richard S. Loritsch for the Haymaker fanzine. 11) The Unofficial Champions Write-Up Page with writeups of over 100 comic book characters, using the Champions system is at: http://www.msilink.com/~deejay/champs.html 12) The Duel Worlds: Heroes superhero game by Frog God ([f--g--d] at [aol.com]) can be downloaded at: http://www.io.com/~frog-god/duel.html 13) Jeff Dee posted mail-order info for both V&V and the Lance & Laser miniatures on the Villains & Vigilantes Web Page: http://www.realtime.net/~gauntlet/vandv.html. V&V rules upgrades can be found there. 14) DC Heroes RPG has a hypermail archive for it's E-Mailing list, at http://www.idyllmtn.com/archives/dc-heroes/ Messages are indexed by thread, subject, sender, and date. |15) There are TONS of DC Heroes Comic Characters with | DC Heroes Statistics at | http://copper.ucs.indiana.edu/~rmaple/archive.html (7) Are there any MUDS or MUSHes for Super-Hero Gaming? ======================================================== DCU MUSH (short for DC Universe) -------------------------------- is a MUSH set in three different time zones: The Golden Age, the Modern Age, and the Future Age. Players can roleplay in 1942, 1995, or 2995, and can interact with such diverse characters as the Seven Soldiers of Victory, the Justice League of America, or the new Legion of Super-Heroes. Feature characters are available in all eras, and non-features are welcome in some. The Modern Age is currently under construction, but the Past and Future are wide open to visitors and comics fans. Come check us out at (or in leyman's terms: telnet to muds.okstate.edu 3333) Children of the Atom MUX ------------------------ is a roleplaying community based on the theory, what if Charles Xavier returned with the New Mutants to Earth after the Mutant Massacre. Its address is bison.range.orst.edu 2099, and a prototype homepage for it is under works. (8) What are some good Non Gaming Related Super-Hero Books? ============================================================ Super-related books can be considered sources of ideas and characters. (Does anyone have the ISBN numbers for these books?) * The novel _Superfolks_ by Robert Mayer, published in 1977. There's no ISBN listed inside. * _Weird Heroes_, ed. by Byron Preiss -- more pulpy than supers, but closely related * _Temps_, ed. by Neil Gaiman and Alex Stewart, a collection of short stories by various authors (Gaiman writes one). It has a sequel, which I believe is called _Eurotemps_, but I haven't read it and don't know if the editorial team is the same. * _How to be a Superhero_ by Mark Leigh and Mike Lepine -- This helps a lot in giving your character a name and background and is one of the funniest books I've ever read. ISBN: 1-56163-051-9 "I followed their advice - and now I'm the mightiest man in the universe!" -Captain-Mightiest-Man-In-The-Universe * Stan Lee's series called "Riftworld". The first book in the series is _Crossover_, the second was _Villains_ and the third is _Odyssey_. They are about a comic book artist who manages to make/discover a breach and bring over several giants. * _Wild Cards_ series, edited by George R.R. Martin. * _Encylopedia of Superheroes_ by Jeff Rovin * _Encylopedia of Supervillains_ by Jeff Rovin They are both excellent sourcebooks. (9) Can You Answer These Commonly Asked Questions? =================================================== *Q* I heard some Super-Hero games were out of print, is this true? *A* Yes, a number of Supers games are out of print. They are Mayfair's DC Heroes RPG, TSR's Marvel Superheroes, , Superhero 2044, Chaosium's Superworld, and Supergame. Contrary to popular belief, Villains & Vigilantes is *not* out of print. Even though FGU no longer advertises or attends conventions, V&V is still in print. A lot of distributors either no longer bother with it, or are simply unaware that they can still get it, which is why it's commonly believed to be out of print. *Q* Where can I get copies of out of print Super-Hero stuff? *A* Well, you can look in rec.games.frp.marketplace, or if you see any ads in r.g.f.s-h, but your best chances to find things is to 'hunt' for them yourself. You can do this by advertising in r.g.f.m, and r.g.f.s-h, checking comics stores which often carry old stock like that, or going to conventions (either RPG conventions or comics conventions). I, Cheese, once found a $135 pack of MINT DC Heroes stuff for only $25. It included all the stuff that came out right before the game was cancelled, and it was an EXCELLENT deal. For items like the DC Heroes game, where Mayfair has no more copies, you can have your games store owner call his (or her) distributors to see if there are any in the back rooms. They'll probably go cheap. *Q* What are the E-Mail Addresses for Super-Hero Gaming Companies? *A* Mayfair's (DC Heroes) address is [m--f--r] at [aol.com] Hero Games (Champions) is [h--g--s] at [aol.com] Steve Jackson Games (GURPS Supers) is [s j games] at [io.com] |and The Duel Worlds Heroes is at [f--g--d] at [aol.com] *Q* Where can I find some 1" hex maps? *A* Well, for Super-Hero miniatures gaming, there are the 1" hex maps that were occasionally bound in with Space Gamer, and intended for use with the Champions map. There was "The Waterfront", and I don't know if more were made. 1" maps are also still put out by Chessex. The Armory also puts out 1" hex maps, although I haven't ordered any recently; they have 36"x48" hex maps in a wide variety of sizes down to 1/4" or so, useful for that grand overview. *Q* Who does super-hero miniatures? And for which games or organizations? If they were 'famous' miniatures, what were they? *A* There are 2 types, 3-D and Cardboard. 3-D: TSR and Grenadier did miniatures for Marvel and DC Heroes (respectively). Dark Horse Miniatures did The Elementals set and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Set along with a Groo set. Grenadier also did two really excellent Superheroes and Supervillains sets for Champions. Soldiers and Swords is out of business, but they were producing a line of Champions miniatures. Appropriately painted Cyberpunk, Star Wars and Shadowrun figures can be used as supers. In the Marvel Miniatures, there were 3 sets. Set 1: Spider-Man, The Scorpion, Mr. Fantastic, Captain Marvel, Doctor Octopus, Thing, Captain America, Radioactive Man, Doctor Doom, Human Torch, Hulk, and Thor. Set 2: Colossus, The Leader, Magneto, Doctor Strange, Rogue, Wolverine, Sub-Mariner, Iron Man, Nightcrawler, Kang, Ariel, and Storm. Set 3: Kingpin, Ultron, Scarlet Witch, She Hulk, Spider-Man, Hawkeye. |The Elementals miniatures included five miniatures: Vortex, Fathom, |Morningstar, and Monolith, in both human (Tommy Czuchra) and golem form. | |The Groo Miniatures include Groo, Rufferto, Taranto, the Sage, and |the cover dragon from the first Epic series. (This doesn't really |belong, but nyah nyah.) | |The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has four Foot Clan Ninjas in various |poses, a Casey Jones figure, a Fugitoid, a Triceratron, and all four |of the Turtles (Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo for those |of you who missed the '80's.) | |Finally, the DC Heroes Miniatures by Grenadier were in six boxes. |In order of release: |JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: Superman, Hawkman, Green Arrow (Ollie), |Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern (Hal), Batman, Darkseid, The Joker, |Sinestro, and Brainiac (Shiny Robot). |THE NEW TEEN TITANS: Changeling, Cyborg, Nightwing, Starfire, Jericho, |Wonder Girl, Blackfire, Trigon, Brother Blood, and Deathstroke. |LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: Sensor Girl, Blok, Wildfire, Dawnstar, Element |Lad, Lightning Lord, Emerald Empress, Persuader, Tyr, and Mordru. |THE OUTSIDERS: Katana, Looker, Windfall, Geo-Force, Metamorpho, and |the five members of the Masters of Disaster whoever they are. Black |Lightning is featured in the art on the box cover, but he isn't one of |the figures in the set. |WATCHMEN: The Comedian, Doctor Manhattan, Ozymandias, Nite Owl, |Rorschach, Hooded Justice, Captain Metropolis, Silk Spectre, Moloch, |and Archimedes (Nite Owl's flying vehicle). Cardboard: old Villains and Vigilantes modules have TONS of small 1' square cut-outs for table-top representation. When GURPS was originally coming out, they sold sets of cardboard stand-ups which included supers. Marvel had stand-ups in it's basic set and a module called 'Pit of the Viper.' DC Heroes had stand-ups without bases in it's 1st Edition Rules box. The Cardboard Heroes were very nice and is another thing to check in the back room for. SJG said they may be bringing them back. Lance and Laser put out a set for Villains and Vigilantes which are fairly easy to find in the "cheap bins" at gaming stores, and may still be available, I'm not sure. Lance & Laser is also still in existence, and their V&V and generic superhero figures are still available. Their problem is simply that they're a really tiny company, and the switch from lead to pewter hit them pretty hard. You can also ask around on rec.games.miniatures.misc. *Q* Could we have pointers to back issues of Space Gamer and the Dragon? They used to have a lot of useful super hero information. *A* Sorry, at this time I don't know where some can be found, and anyway, TSR would sue my butt into the ground if I tried to do something like that. (10) Who are the People That Helped Cheese out with the FAQ? ============================================================= For help with this FAQ, I'd like to thank the following people: Britt Klein ([t--er--a] at [indirect.com]) Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock Geoffrey Speare ([g--o--f] at [omg.org]), John King ([j--i--g] at [brynmawr.edu]), Matt Korth ([k--th--t] at [pilot.msu.edu]), David Bolack ([d--l--k] at [galaxy.galstar.com]) Kynn Bartlett ([k--n] at [idyllmtn.com]) John McMullen ([john m c] at [mks.com]) John Ewan ([j--e] at [MPGN.COM]) Kansas Jim ([j--g--e] at [aoc.nrao.edu]) Tykie ([T--a--w] at [aol.com]) Joshua Krage ([j k rage] at [scientech.com]) [J K Carrier] at [aol.com] Kevin Schmidt (ab921.seorf.ohiou.edu) Rodney Payne ([s--ri--s] at [yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au]) Glenn Walker ([g--ni--r] at [k2nesoft.com]) Mark Brinkman ([b--nk--n] at [southwind.net]) Wayne J Shaw ([s--w] at [chelsea.ios.com]) Dr. Mid-nite ([r--ns--r] at [facstaff.wisc.edu]) Brian K. Curley, Master of Time & Space ([b k c] at [axle.adp.wisc.edu]) David Bennett Newell ([d--w--l] at [mit.edu]) Joseph R Martinez ([m--ti--j] at [GAS.UUG.Arizona.EDU]) Jack Wilson ([d--ej--y] at [netcom.com]) Chris Goodwin ([a--ch--r] at [PEAK.ORG]) Ben, Ben Bo-Ben" <[w--d--o] at [expert.cc.purdue.edu]> Steven Anderson <[TBUF 76 B] at [prodigy.com]> James R Dunson ([j--n--n] at [vtopus.cs.vt.edu]) George Ruban ([g m n] at [csa.bu.edu]) Jeff Dee <[g--nt--t] at [bga.com]> Dave Rupp <[d--u--p] at [nacubo.nche.edu]> John Walchle <[j--lc--e] at [mvnc.edu]> Jim Cowling <[s--wl--g] at [islandnet.com]> Ray Winninger <[W--in--R] at [aol.com]> Donald Tsang ([t--a--g] at [austin.ibm.com]) the UVV and Jan Isley for helping with the voting process and everyone who voted 'YES" for r.g.f.s-h. If anyone has any comments, or questions, or thinks I should add something to this FAQ, please send to me at : [m--qu--d] at [miavx1.muohio.edu] The FAQ is posted once a month (or whenever it's changed around) to r.g.f.s-h, and the latest version can be found at: http//www.muohio.edu/~marquajd/shfaq.html At your service, Citizen. -Cheese (Who doesn't just play Super Hero games! =) ) -- GOOD AND BAD THINGS TO OFFER IN YOUR SUPERHERO FAN CLUB GOOD: 10" x 8" glossy color photo of yourself. BAD: 10" x 8" glossy color photo of yourself - on a bearskin rug. GOOD: A cut-away diagram of your Crimemobile. BAD: A cut-away diagram of your Superpet. -"How to be a Superhero" P. 72 ISBN #1-56163-051-9 --Joshua Marquart-- marquajd@ or [j d marquart] at [miavx1.muohio.edu] ******************************************************************* * Moderator: Coyt D. Watters [watters 10] at [osu.edu] * * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * * Disclaimer: Postings are checked for relevance to the charter, * * not for accuracy of information. * * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * * Support the EFF and the ACLU as they fight for the freedom of * * speech on the Internet! * *******************************************************************