Gaming Outpost Discussions » Tag: Music Wars

Gaming Outpost Discussions » Tag: Music Wars - Recent Posts http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/tags/music-wars Gaming Outpost Discussions » Tag: Music Wars - Recent Posts en-US Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:24:46 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/search.php JohnA1nut on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19949 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:33:49 +0000 JohnA1nut 19949@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ <blockquote>They're Coming to Take Me Away.</blockquote> Napoleon XIV. My theme song. (Doing Therapy) M. J. Young on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19944 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:06:36 +0000 M. J. Young 19944@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Yeah, well, it certainly can be debated, since songs in which the singer speaks the verses have been big in Country music for a very long time. Cash's A Boy Named Sue was almost all talk. Also, one of the first pop songs I ever heard of (and eventually I could perform it, although I've probably forgotten a few of the words by now) was all drum beat and rhythmic talk: They're Coming to Take Me Away.  I heard of it when I was in fourth grade, because one of my classmates gave it as his favorite song. The Bee Gees are credited with inventing Disco, but they thought they were doing Rock the way they'd always done it. I think that for a song to be "Rap", at least in the earliest days, it would have to have been performed/recorded by using fragments of disco from other people's songs. I use to know the name for that--DJs called those fragments something in particular, and bragged about how many records they could steal from for background for their rappers. So in the early days, if you made your own background music for it, it wasn't rap. That might exclude Blondie. --M. J. Young JohnA1nut on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19918 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:59:01 +0000 JohnA1nut 19918@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ <blockquote>rap from improved turntables allowing the DJ to play bits of songs for background for the rapper and get cuing noises. </blockquote> It's a matter of debate, but the first ever rap song is actually credited to a white woman. Blondie's Rapture is arguably the first-ever recorded rap song. I always thought that was kind of funny. M. J. Young on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19917 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:53:59 +0000 M. J. Young 19917@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ <blockquote>On this world, what we call "Jazz" could be what they call "Classical". What we call "Rock" could be what they call "Death Metal". There's a lot of leeway here. Stretch those brain muscles. </blockquote> "When I use a word, it means exactly what I want it to mean, no more and no less."--Humpty Dumpty. Yeah, sure, you could change all the names of everything, but 1) it won't change the definitions of the styles beyond that you're using a different title and 2) it certainly will make communication a lot more difficult if I have to remember that "Jazz" means Beethoven and "Rock" doesn't include the Beatles. More pertinently, the issue is not what words mean what music, but when we are talking about the particular elements of a musical genre what do we mean by that genre. Certainly if "Rock" doesn't include all the fifties do-wap bands and instead means Metallica and AC/DC, that's going to have very different elements than a different concept of "Rock" that includes Simon & Garfunkel and nothing after Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Similarly, if your Jazz is all Satchmo and Dizzy Gillespie but not Coltrane or the Theme from Mission Impossible, you've got a different set of elements there. Even with Classical, the Baroque of Bach and Vivaldi and the Renaissance of Pachelbel and Praetorius is very different from the late classical of Mahler, Dvorak, and Shostakovich, or even the earlier high works of Wagner and Beethoven. Moderns tend to group them together mostly because they're not current popular music (and to put a real irony to it, moderns tend to lump Modern under the name Classical, too, because it's performed by the same ensembles--orchestras, choirs, quartets, and other traditional instruments). They have nothing really in common that rock does not share with jazz--and those are probably the two most disparate of your contemporary music categories, everything else related to or derived from some combination of them or their folk and gospel roots. So what I'm saying is that before you can argue about what the elements of a genre are for purposes of what magic is common in it, you have to define the genre in very clear parameters, by artists, dates, key songs and styles, instrumentation, et cetera. (Instrumentation is very significant here. Every new music has been launched by a combination of technology and social pressures. Classical broke from Baroque by the invention of the valve, which expanded the possibilities for brass instruments. Jazz arose from the invention of the Saxophone, the first woodwind that could compete with brass instruments in a small ensemble. Rock came from the electrification of the guitar. Techno came from the computerization of synthesized keyboards, rap from improved turntables allowing the DJ to play bits of songs for background for the rapper and get cuing noises. Each style transitioned from a predecessor based on a combination of new technological options and a social rejection of an established standard. It thus occurs to me that you might consider the technologies behind each style as part of the effort to grasp the natures of them in terms of the magics they produce.) --M. J. Young JohnA1nut on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19911 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:38:31 +0000 JohnA1nut 19911@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ <blockquote>Knowing less about music than the average joe let alone a music pro, I'll only say about MJ's argument that it needs to be resolved with some definition</blockquote> Ah, but don't you feel stupid. You're talking like we're talking about earth. On this world, what we call "Jazz" could be what they call "Classical". What we call "Rock" could be what they call "Death Metal". There's a lot of leeway here. Stretch those brain muscles. Tadeusz on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19910 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:29:50 +0000 Tadeusz 19910@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ However, the name for the ruler of the Rock faction is 'the King of Rock and Roll' in homage to Elvis. I suppose we could change that to king of rock, but it doesn't work as well. Jazz Song Magic List ==================== MORE LATER.... Tadeusz on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19859 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:33:22 +0000 Tadeusz 19859@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Knowing less about music than the average joe let alone a music pro, I'll only say about MJ's arguement that it needs to be resolved with some definition. M. J. Young on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19858 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:32:02 +0000 M. J. Young 19858@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Quick clarification: the correct catch-all term is "Rock" or "Rock Music", but "Rock and Roll" is used by a lot of people some of whom don't know better and some of whom should. --M. J. Young M. J. Young on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19847 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 20:52:30 +0000 M. J. Young 19847@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ O.K., time for the Geezer to give his two cents. The term "Rock 'n' Roll" technically refers to a music form of the fifties--Dion and the Belmonts, the Do-wap bands, the black vocal quartets, Elvis Presley, the Twist, I'm forgetting a lot of important names, but that's the era and the feel. The early Beatles were still in that genre, but it was they and their peers who carried us out of it. It wasn't all "goodness and light", but a lot of it was thinly veiled innuendo and a lot of it really was very innocent. It ended in the early sixties, but the name became a cover term for every form of music that arose from it until Rap. The Flower People were not Rock 'n' Roll; they were folk rock like Joni Mitchell, Peter Paul & Mary, Simon & Garfunkle, Donavan, Bob Dylan. They also were significantly disparate from the heavy metal sounds of Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly, Steppenwolf, the later Beatles, the Doors, all of whom were moving into the drug culture. The cultures were trying to retain some unity up through Woodstock but they were already fragmenting--there was a united opposition to the Vietnam War, but the Flower Power people were true Peaceniks and the Metalheads were mostly just draft dodgers. And the Pop music culture of the sixties pulled from all directions, and everyone tried to include some songs on every album that would be sufficiently mainstream to get Top 40 airplay. Now, I'm not trying to add categories to your list; but if you're going to fight about what music is what, you'd better get some clearer definitions of what it covers. From one perspective, the last band to do Rock 'n' Roll was probably Sha-na-na or maybe that a capella vocal band that got the gig doing music for Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego? From another perspective, everything you call metal, techno, rave, disco, and several other groupings is a subcategory of Rock 'n' Roll. I don't know if that helps, but it helps me. --M. J. Young JohnA1nut on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19839 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:58:04 +0000 JohnA1nut 19839@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Techno gives me an electric feeling. I don't know how else to describe it. I would equate to it super speed, control over electricity, throwing lightning bolts, things of that nature. Praise and Worship. The Bible is described as a sword of some sort, so these guys have magic swords that can do more than just cut through anything. I'm reminded of Petra "No Weapon" "No weapon formed against us shall prosper, all those who rise up against us shall fall. I will not fear what the Devil may bring me. I am a servant of God." Those lyrics, literally. Protection from harm, removal of fear and doubt, penalties against the enemy whilst the song is playing. <blockquote>2. Song: Control Poison Mag 2@2. Get Your Game Face On. This chant song allows for the quick recovery for a limited time from overindulgence in alcohol or marijuana for the purpose of fighting. Also called the 'Goodbye Hangover Song'. </blockquote> Marijuana doesn't give you a hangover. You're just still high when you wake up.... Tadeusz on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19838 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:49:57 +0000 Tadeusz 19838@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ 5. Song: Limited Damage Repair Mag 2@1. "She's A Rainbow" by the Rolling Stones. Can heal one person per song. Causes rainbow lights to cascade from the singer's hair to the person being healed. Time is one minute which is baseline. Singer usually does not sing whole song. Rap Music Song Magic List ========================= 1. Song: Bonus Morale Mag 1@1. Customized Group Boast. This list chant song of the rapmaster's friends and their accomplishments encourages the group of fighters by reminding them of their toughness. 2. Song: Control Poison Mag 2@2. Get Your Game Face On. This chant song allows for the quick recovery for a limited time from overindulgence in alcohol or marijuana for the purpose of fighting. Also called the 'Goodbye Hangover Song'. 3. Song: Change Size Mag 3@3. We bad: Clubs and Guns. This chant song doubles the size of clubs, baseball bats, and pistols used by a single friend of the rapmaster. 4. Song: Anti-Aggressive Mag 5@1. Rapmaster Personal Glory Chant. This chant song, if done well, prevents anyone from attacking the magician if he takes no aggressive action. JohnA1nut on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19837 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:42:59 +0000 JohnA1nut 19837@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ <blockquote>I don't want to do a version of Rock which is all sweetness and light. </blockquote> Right, understood. However, that would certainly be a valid aspect of it. Some sweetness and light (those are the Flower Power faction) and some which take the Rock-n-Roll literally. (Songs which cause earthquakes, perhaps?) They're all together, just some have different abilities and preferences to others. Above all though, I didn't want one group to be visibly superior. It's supposed to be a stalemate, more or less. At least the way I see it. So, the Rock-n-Rollers are out on the battlefield, and the Flower Power groups are the support, giving morale and healing boosts to their somewhat more violent brethren. Tadeusz on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19836 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:33:55 +0000 Tadeusz 19836@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Not all classic Rock and Roll is sweetness and light. In fact, I suspect that much of its not. I don't want to do a version of Rock which is all sweetness and light. JohnA1nut on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19834 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:33:26 +0000 JohnA1nut 19834@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ <blockquote>"I Wanna Dance All Night". </blockquote> I think the song is "I wanna rock and roll all night, and party every day." Unless you're referring to one with which I'm not familiar. <blockquote>John, perhaps you can remind me of some Flower Power or whatever songs. </blockquote> Flower Power music was not quite my forte. The song that comes to mind is Rolling Stones, from the Satanic Majesties album, song, "She's a Rainbow" "Magic colors everywhere. When she combs her hair. It's like a rainbow." A wave of multicolored light. Blinding effect, healing effect. Since it's Flower Power, it would be more healing than destructive. The Flower Power would be for bonuses and healing of their own, not for destruction of others, at least I think. Tadeusz on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19833 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:23:44 +0000 Tadeusz 19833@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Wodium put up some magic ideas for Techno (or was it 07) about being able to run machines in a trance state, and being able to dispel magic. ==================== Rock Magic Song List =================== 1. Song: Ceremonies NOS Mag 1@1. "I Like That Old-Time Rock and Roll". This welcomes new members into the Kingdom of Rock and Roll and has a magical effect of making the member understand the Rock worldview. 2. Song: Remove Fatigue Mag 2@1. "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night". All willing participants in a defined song area which can vary from a ten foot cube to a hundred foot cube receive the benefit of fatigue removal as long as they are dancing during the song. This lasts all night (and the song is not effective in the daytime.) 3. Song: Release Lock or Hold Mag 3@4. "Freebird". This imparts a RS/5 sit-mod to someone trying to break free from a hold (like a Rock prisoner being held by the arms by two Country riflemen.). The other spell is a prison door opening spell. So this song can be used for two purposes. 4. Song: Manipulate Airflow Mag 4@4. "Cherokee Wind". This is the song that goes 'Cherokee people, Cherokee pride, O Wind blow over the Oche...'. It causes a foot wide blast of wind for RS/5 with speed determined by relative sucess X 2 (thus if you beat your roll by 35 you get a seven foot wide blast of wind at 70 mph.) John, perhaps you can remind me of some Flower Power or whatever songs. Edited: Song title. JohnA1nut on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19831 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:50:31 +0000 JohnA1nut 19831@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ <blockquote>Um, rave music tends to be trance. </blockquote> Which would explain why I've not heard of it. <blockquote>It might be a sub-sect of techno, but that's a huge stretch music wise. </blockquote> I still think there's more than enough already. So, let's work with what we've got. Glantri on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19829 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:41:45 +0000 Glantri 19829@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Um, rave music tends to be trance. It's pretty popular in some areas. Also referred to as House music. It might be a sub-sect of techno, but that's a huge stretch music wise. JohnA1nut on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19827 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:23:04 +0000 JohnA1nut 19827@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ I've never heard of Trance music. If I've never heard of it, it can't be that popular. Also, quite frankly, I think there's more than enough already to make a really good world. Glantri on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19823 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 09:30:51 +0000 Glantri 19823@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Perhaps Trance could be added? Magical effects similar to the sirens in the Odyssey. Their not outwardly violent as their music draws in the unaware who are then magically prevented from leaving. Possibly turning them into slaves to the Trance society. JohnA1nut on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19816 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 05:50:08 +0000 JohnA1nut 19816@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Techno, I kind of compare what techno I've heard to an electric shock. Psionic ability to throw lightning bolts, perhaps? Classic, relaxing. A skilled Classical wizard could put an entire army to sleep, requiring a simple stamina check to stay awake. Death Metal. Evil. Pain. Bringing the dead back to life. Jazz, teleportation. Rap, gets inside your head. Paralyzing effect on thought processes. Extreme, bionics. (Not all of this is psi and mag based.) Picture XXX with the bionic limbs of Colonel Steve Austin. Praise and Worship, bonus morale for certain. Uplifting, perhaps the ability to fly at flight speed? One-Hit-Wonders are of course, a little bit of everything. These are my thoughts for the moment. (Doing Therapy) Tadeusz on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19798 Sat, 12 Jun 2010 20:51:53 +0000 Tadeusz 19798@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Music Wars: Beta ================ Magic and Psi List ================== Rock Rap Jazz Classic Death Metal Extreme Country Praise & Worship One-Hit Wonders Techno Rock: ===== --All Rock and Roll Magic requires the use of a guitar and an amp with an electric source for the amp (post-apocalyptic somewhat world so electricity is not so easy to come by). This is usually non-destructive. Certain magics require specialized types of guitars (bass guitars for Earth moving magic) and the legendary spell for the (INSERT COOL ROCK STAR and SPELL HERE) with one of the star's own guitars. --All Rock and Roll Magic is bonused by the playing skill of the guitarist and any accompanying musicans and vocalists. This is a RS/5 skill bonus with a necessary success here to cast any magic. --All Rock and Roll Magic (as well as the Magics used by other groups) is loud and only effective if heard, and requires total body involvement and a simple stamina check afterwards or NPC is at -20 on all skills for d10 minutes, and all magic receives the bonus for appropriate verbal. +3 for loud, and must be heard +5, and dance/play +15, and stamina +3, and appropriate verbal +5 for a total of +31 on all magic. --Guitar, amp, electric source==+10 if non-destructive. Bass guitar and rest is +12. Specific star guitar (stars have multiple guitars usually) is almost unique. --Time to unleash a spell is the playing of the first verse and chorus unless the magician player learns the skill "Power Blast the Chorus" in which case they can shorten the time, and make up for it by taking another playcheck with the shorter the time taken the harder the playcheck. This allows for desperation songs...'we have ten seconds until the swarm hits us...play 'We are the Champions...NOW!'. JohnA1nut on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19785 Sat, 12 Jun 2010 17:40:16 +0000 JohnA1nut 19785@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ I wanted the beta world to be very magical and psionic. That was kind of my entire intention when I started it. Different kinds of music makes you feel different ways. I started thinking, in what ways could those feelings be converted into realistic magic and whatnot for the characters to use? Jazz gives you kind of a "transported" feeling, I think, so the Jazz faction would have psionic teleportation. Classic rock, that's hippie music. Flower Power, drawing on Mother Earth. Those kinds of magic powers. That's the kind of thing I was going after. Tadeusz on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19776 Sat, 12 Jun 2010 13:13:29 +0000 Tadeusz 19776@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Try the tag link at the top of these here posts. It will take you to a joined project for Music Wars Alpha and Beta, two worlds that are parallel. JohnA1Nut came up with an exceedingly cool idea for a world which wobbled around a bit and got split into two ideas and eventually bogged down. I'd like to unbog it. The basic notion is of a post-apocalyptic world (with a gentle crash) where there are different factions based on music genres. The palace of the current King of Rock and Roll is Graceland... A lot of us put a bit of work into it, but its a very big idea. Glantri on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19775 Sat, 12 Jun 2010 12:31:58 +0000 Glantri 19775@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Not to be oblivious but what is Music Wars? Is it a world or a general discussion on music. If there is another thread you could direct me to to read up on it that would be great. Tadeusz on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-1#post-19774 Sat, 12 Jun 2010 12:22:17 +0000 Tadeusz 19774@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ OK, I'd like to take another crack at Music Wars. Maybe we can finish it off this time. Any suggestion on the first bit I ought to hit? Tadeusz on "Techno Music" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/techno-music#post-11632 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:35:30 +0000 Tadeusz 11632@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ If we're talking about a mythic faction, it could be that Techno is underground like the DMers are. However, the DMers are out to cause trouble, and the Techno's are merely small and weak, and not interested in changing the world so much as defending themselves. You could have small communities that claim to be country or rap, but are actually Techno, and smugglers who sneak out their mix tapes.... JohnA1nut on "Alpha" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/alpha#post-5837 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:20:40 +0000 JohnA1nut 5837@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Music Wars By John A1Nut and Eric R. Ashley The chief creators of consensus in the post-apocalyptic rubble of a half-blasted society once called the Republic of Columbia are the radio stations which are licensed by the Federal Communications Council or Comcoo (with a long ‘o’). The FCC is the only major governmental force that survived the Big Blast somewhat intact since most of its leadership was skiing down the slopes at Vail singing little happy tunes to themselves. Columbia is half-blasted because the Star Wars defense program actually kind of worked. The Rooskies and the Han got blasted back to the Stone Age as the reward for their treacherous sneak attack. Europe except for Berlin which is the capital of a Music Society got taken over by Rooskie invasion forces which then got cut off because their home society got wasted. Now Europe is ruled by Tank Commander This and Captain of Infantry That in a thousand little fiefdoms who all ignore each other except when the locals rebel against the new Rooskie ruling class. Nowadays no one has the ability to conduct large scale war. Its not like the old days where a few nations could reach out and swat another nation. Its not even to the point where a nation can maintain internal coherence. Large governments have collapsed. This includes the Republic of Columbia which is gone. The Interstates are toast, but Rt. 66 and its brethren survived the Big Blast as the Nuke war is called. Due to all the nukes that got blown up high in the atmosphere by Reagan's Rockets, there are really, really beautiful sunsets. Its a much more broken apart society with the only major governmental force that at all held together in the US being the FCC, the Federal Comm Council as its now called, or more colloquially, the CommCoo although FCC shock troopers consider that rude, and usually engage in a little amateur dentistry if they hear it. The FCC restricts itself to controlling radio stations because they lack the power to really put things back together again. As a strategy, they would rather focus on being utterly dominant in the single most important area of power, and ignore the rest. The rest of the world is worse...completely fallen apart at best, and gone back to Stone Age tech and cannibalism at worst. Any ambition to go and save the world is long gone. Saving one's own life and property is more important, and if you're really ambitious, you might think about saving your neighborhood, or joining one of the Music Societies which is where the socially active who want to move, and the idealists who want to fix society go. Nowadays technology is stuck below the computer age: the technology bias is 11@2. The Magic Bias is 3@2. The Psionic Bias is 3@2. The Body bias is 12@9 and dropping as some of the odd creatures like butterflies that supported the high Bod bias by their unusual Body skills are now dead, extinct, kaput. The primary Music Societies are as follows: 1. Sixties Rock and Roll: A. Rivals: Extreme. The Sixties feel disappointed in Extreme which branched off from them some time ago. They try to win them back to the fold by charm and by cannon. Such conflicts are as if a father had a son who opened a competing business in the same field. Usually contacts between these two groups start out amicably, but escalate to violence as opposing expectations of how the other should behave collide. B. Weapons: C. Special Skills: 1. Defensive Tactics: This is a Psi-based skill used by small combat units termed ‘bands’ which helps them choose the best way to defend an area. 2. Strategic Defensive Generalship: This is a skill used by several of the best ‘superstar managers’ aka generals in the Rock High Command. The RHC is known for its brilliant defensive stands. Any time you hear about a fight with fifty casualties on one side, and a thousand on the other, its almost certain that someone was fooled into attacking the Rockers. 3. Military Engineering is a Psi-based skill used in building bridges, and in this case mostly forts and redoubts, and channeling structures to control the flow of battle to the advantage of the defender. Most of the old Corp of Engineers went to Rock, and those that didn’t found their skills not properly appreciated by their groups. The end result is that Rock has the best ‘groupies corp’ in the world. D. Capital: Memphis is the Divided City shared by Jazz and by Rock. Graceland is the Capital Building and center point of Rock’s control. From here, the current King of Rock and Roll reigns. E. Mindset: They have a large territory stretching deep into the South, and the Midwest, and over the Rockies and into Arizona with a small pod up in the Northeast around New York City. In total land territory, they are the second largest of the Music Societies behind Country, and in listeners they are the second largest behind Praise and Worship which helps confirm them in their basic defensive stance. They try to avoid picking fights except with the Extreme. They are very good about Standing their Ground. Once dug in, they are very hard to get out. 2. Extreme: A. Rivals: Rock is their disappointed and over-controlling father who in addition is extremely boring. They have had many bitter fights. Extremists divide between wanting to 1) Make them leave us alone like they do everyone else. 2) Destroy them, and their precious Graceland with fire. 3) Take them over, and redirect that wasted energy. B. Weapons: C. Special Skills: 1. Rappelling--This is a Bod based skill. 2. Stunt Driving--This is a Bod based or a Tech based skill depending on the driver’s mental orientation. 3. HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) Skydiving--This is a Bod based skill. 4. Stealth--This is a Bod based skill. 5. Bionic implants, increase bod skills. 6. Martial Arts, most are 2@1 martial arts. 7. Preferring hand to hand combat over firearms. 8. Terroristic tactics, explosives, guerrilla warfare tactics. D. Capital: Vail Colorado used to be the city of Vail in the state of Colorado, but states are done with in these new Music days. A cry ‘Vail!’ which is always delivered with verve and enthusiasm and challenge is the greeting call between Extremists. E. Mindset: The Extremists is seeking to create a new, better human who is faster, stronger, and braver. They do not seek this through bionics (although they don’t discriminate against those who need this, but they discriminate against those who use this without need), or through drugs. And they need a soundtrack for the glorious bravery and insane skill that is meant to be their life. They tend to elevate those of their ilk who achieve greatness to saint status. Thus ‘Saint Vin Diesel’, and ‘Saint Evil Knievel’ are in their pantheon of heroes as early proto-Extremists. Most of the Special Forces wound up in the Extremists although a fair number made it to Country and Praise/Worship. 3. One-Hit Wonders: A. Rivals: They try to have no rivals. B. Weapons: They are extremely eccletic being able to use the weapons and magic skills of any group. In addition, they have some psionic skills of their own. C. Special Skills: 1. Mediation--Some of the best mediators in the world work for the 1H or the Wonders as they are often called. They are very good at finding common ground between people, and helping to reach productive agreements. One of their techniques is to charge a vast sum of money from both sides. If both sides agree that it is a good agreement, then both sides get ninety percent of their money back. If not, then the Mediators keep it. 2. Stage Dressing--Again, some very good stage dressers who can turn a stage from a Country Hoe-down to a dirty alley suited for Rappers in a minute flat work for the Wonders. 3. Empathy--The 1H tend to be able to read the real emotions of people. One common saying is “Never, ever gamble in Los Angeles because a bunch of angels did, and that’s how the place became Lost Angeles.” D. Capital: Los Angeles. People come from all over the world seeking to become great. Many pay any price for just a touch of greatness, receive it, and find its not worth the price. Others have only one good song in them, but it’s a very good song, indeed. Some keep trying, and others go on to other things. But all of them are One-Hit Wonders. E. Mindset: If people will put aside their hatreds and fears, a way can be found to work things out. Just a little trust, a little honesty, and things will get better which will lay the groundwork for a little more trust. Sometimes they are too naïve for words, and sometimes that is an act. They are well aware that some people ‘need killing’, and they have people who can do that very well. But they think most people can be rescued, and that a little lie about how naïve they are is in a good cause. And they don’t mind lying in a good cause. They work closely with Praise and Worship which is trying to reach out to everyone in a similar way. One issue they have with Praise and Worship is how the P&W folks treat the Death Metalists. They want the P&W folks to hold themselves defenseless to the Death Metalists in hope that this show of defenselessness and love will move the hearts of the Death Metalists. Another reason why they don’t work closer with them is that both sides are infiltrated by secret agents bent on causing trouble between the groups. 4. Classical A. Rivals: They divide their time between hating everyone in a quiet refined way. B. Weapons: 1. Revolvers, .38, .357, small automatic handguns, the occasional black powder gun can be seen wielded by a Classical, especially among the older folks. Gentleman's weapons. Average skill, 2@5-2@10 2. Cane swords. C. Special Skills: Hypnotic mind control. D. Capital: New York City. E. Mindset: The old ways worked for hundreds of years. What's wrong with them? 5. The House of Jazz which is ruled by the legendary Bluesman although some say he is merely a figurehead for the Jazz and Blues Council. A. Rivals: Classical and Rap are both rivals. The first for the technical virtuosity shown which pleases some people who think that a turn to a Technocracy would save the world, and the second group competes to be the Genuine Voice of the People’s Pain B. Weapons: Thompson submachine-guns, .45 caliber. .45 automatic handguns. Gangster style weapons. C. Special Skills: 1. Spell of Confusion is cast on one opponent. 2. Eerie Synchronicity allows a group of Jazzmen to attack their opponents as if they were one man. This is a Body skill. 3. The Ole Black Magic inspires strong lust in a target. This is a Body skill. 4. Open a Door into the Nevernever allows the opening of a pre-existing magic gate into the Nevernever where magic creatures live. These creatures cannot stand the touch of sunlight, or too much materialist based or spiritual based logic. They thrive on irrationality and whimsy. D. Capital: Jazz shares Memphis with Rock, but it shares Beale Street with no one. It is here, in one or the other of the fabulous night clubs that line this street that the Jazz and Blues Council meets. Jazz is not Blues, but Jazz owns the Blues as a subset of its power (although some Bluesmen dislike this, and the current leader of the Jazz is actually a Bluesman which bespeaks complicated, back room politics at its finest). E. Mindset: Jazz started as the music of poor people, and of the Blacks, and of New Orleans. Indeed there is a substantial segment of its supporters who would like to move the capital to New Orleans, and ‘turn back the tide to the old days’. But it became the music of contemplative musicians of uncanny skill, and odd turns of thought that led them places that the common man had difficulty following them too. And thus it became the music of white music professors. It still has its roots, but they are thinner and weaker than they were. It claims to be the music for all. It provides for the poor, and for the wise it claims. 6. Praise and Worship A. Rivals: Death Metal is their rival. They honestly don’t want to fight them, but at the same time, they see the Dmers as determined to destroy everything they can lay their hands on. Plus the Dmer tendency to wear shirts proclaiming that “I worship the Prince of Darkness” or “Murder is my Hobby. Genocide is my sport. My job is Skateboarding.” does tend to be off-putting. B. Weapons: 1. Longsword. 2. Pump Shotgun. 3. That crucifix he's wearing? It's either a knife or a double barrel derringer. C. Special Skills: 1. The Sword of the Spirit has a more mundane metaphor for this group. This group has the best hand-to-hand combatants of any group. Such Swordsmen are also trained in singing, and witnessing to make them swordsmen of the heart as well. 2. Sword of the Spirit: It is rumored that some miracles have been observed where Swordsmen chopped through solid steel with a blade that was undamaged. This is a Magical skill. 3. Laying on of oil: This is a healing technique to help the almost dying to recover mildly. It is a Magical bias technique. D. Capital: The Dual Capitals of Salt Lake City and Atlanta hold the affection of this group. In one year SLC holds the capital, and in the next Atlanta. The smoothness and equanimity of the transference of power is one of the great propaganda points of the Praise and Worship crowd. They can point out that they run a vast group with smoothness, and polite deference which does not break out into fistfights, and should they not be able to run the nation that way? E. Mindset: “The closer everyone gets to God, the closer they get to each other.” People are naturally scum, or sinners. But God and his agent, human government, and one’s peers can help the person who receives His grace to be closer to their original state before the Fall of Humanity into wretchedness. Life is pretty good. The world is beautiful. Everyone ought to be grateful for every day. The strategy of making a PW that goes with each group (that is a PW Country, a PW Classics, a PW Jazz) is based on the idea that if certain fundamentals of reality are accepted, then the rest can be negotiated. They hold this was the nature of the nation before the Big Blast. 7. Death Metal: A. Rivals: They hate Praise and Worship considering them a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites who should be hated because they seem to enjoy life when everyone knows life is terrible. They also have the nerve to claim they have answers which infuriates the Dmer, but they don’t have all the answers which also infuriated the Dmers as well. B. Weapons: 1. They are trying to build a nuclear weapon, but haven’t yet succeeded. 2. They do own nerve gas (sarin) in artillery shells, and mustard gas that they have made. 3. They have a fleet of old B-52 bombers armed JDAMs and MOABS to drop on their enemies. These bombers are also equipped with very loud loudspeakers which play Death Metal at high volume. C. Special Skills: Eric, actually, I wanted the explosives and terrorist tactics on Extreme. It just seems more like them. D. Capital: They have no capital being a set of underground cells. They do have various abandoned ghost towns they take over for a while to use as bases for their fleet. They prefer one’s with morbid names like “Tombstone”. E. Mindset: Some of the Dmers actively worship the Powers of Darkness. Others worship the Norse gods as incarnations of strength. Still others, and that the vast majority, do not worship anything or anyone despite saying otherwise on their t-shirts as they are skeptical materialists. The glass is not only half-empty, the water is an illusion, and we’re all so messed up that screaming and burning everything down is a normal reaction. Classics have got money and so they’re useful for now, and the Rappers have the pain but they want to fix things (losers!), and the Country are a bunch of bucktoothed morons dipping snuff, and the Praise people are purely evil. Praise worships a God who is not there, and if he was, He would be evil, and I hate Him is the rant of the Death Metalist. Logic is not a Dmers strong suit. The Extremists are a bunch of arrogant jerks with their washboard abs, and perfect tans--we hate them too. 8. Country A. Rivals: Rap. B. Weapons: 1. Double barrel shotguns, .45 Colt revolvers, lever action 30-30 rifles. C. Special Skills: 1. Living off the land. The average Countryman has 1@8 survival skills in most moderate climate terrains. D. Capital: Nashville is the capital. The Grand Ol’ Opryhouse is the capital building. E. Mindset: They are the most populist of the song types. At one time Jazz might have laid claim to that distinction, but its gone upmarket. The concerns of ordinary people with ordinary emotions which are sometimes incoherent, and sometimes bittersweet are mildly idealized unlike the other musics which are about people aspiring to be something they are not, or so the country guy sees it. Rock claims to be the people’s music, but its really the young, college guy’s music, and Jazz is for intellectuals and druggies, and Rap is for self-aggrandizing wannabees, and Classic is for snobs who never worked hard a day in their life, and Praise is for plaster saints. Country is for ordinary people, and ordinary people are what will save the world because they always are even though other folk claim the credit. 9. Rap A. Rivals: Country is their chief rival. Country keeps trying to go north through the Midwest, and it meets Rap going south. But they don’t much like Classics either which they tend to identify with The Man. B. Weapons: 1. AK-47 assault rifles, sawed off shotguns, 9mm pistols C. Special Skills: 1. Overawe--The rapper is able to by a recitation of his talents and achievements cause his opponents to need to make a simple difficulty check any time they act against him for the next RS/5 minutes. 2. Identify Fellow: A rapper is able to ask another rapper who he is, and receive a recitation, and then determine if the new guy is ‘authentic’ or a traitor or a spy. This is a psi skill. 3. Urban survival, urban warfare. D. Capital: Detroit, Michigan is the capital. The Murder Capital of the World its called. Its more dangerous than some gulags. E. Mindset: Rap is about giving a voice to the voiceless, about finding a way for the helpless to organize, about style in the STYLE sense. Its about being big, and brave, and letting it all hang out in a world gone cold and cautious what with the near brush with total disaster. Its about fighting the forces of The Man who want to put you in line, use you, abuse you, and then spit you out, and blame you for their abuse. Rap is about hitting the LOUD button. Classics is about deifying the oppressors, and Country is about whiny boys, and Death Metal are just freaks, and the Praise guys mean well but its easy to be happy when you got everything handed to you, and Jazz has sold out with its focus on technical virtuosity instead of speaking to the People’s pain. Eric, I've added and changed some details around. Take a look at it. I'm going to see what I want as far as psi and mag skills. I certainly want higher mag and psi biases. JohnA1nut on "Alpha" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/alpha#post-5836 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:57:34 +0000 JohnA1nut 5836@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ I'll try to get started on Beta later tonight. I just woke up from a nice nap, so I'll be awake for a while with nothing to do. WilliamTWodium on "Alpha" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/alpha#post-5825 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:40:18 +0000 WilliamTWodium 5825@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ See also: the other threads under the Music Wars tag. A lot of it has to do with Beta, and I'm sure a lot of it is older versions of this, but if you're looking for a detail you remember that isn't here, it's likely there. Tadeusz on "Alpha" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/alpha#post-5824 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:31:26 +0000 Tadeusz 5824@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ John, Here's what I have in a single document. I don't know if I have more elsewhere. Eric Music Wars By John A1Nut and Eric R. Ashley The chief creators of consensus in the post-apocalyptic rubble of a half-blasted society once called the Republic of Columbia are the radio stations which are licensed by the Federal Communications Council or Comcoo (with a long ‘o’). The FCC is the only major governmental force that survived the Big Blast somewhat intact since most of its leadership was skiing down the slopes at Vail singing little happy tunes to themselves. Columbia is half-blasted because the Star Wars defense program actually kind of worked. The Rooskies and the Han got blasted back to the Stone Age as the reward for their treacherous sneak attack. Europe except for Berlin which is the capital of a Music Society got taken over by Rooskie invasion forces which then got cut off because their home society got wasted. Now Europe is ruled by Tank Commander This and Captain of Infantry That in a thousand little fiefdoms who all ignore each other except when the locals rebel against the new Rooskie ruling class. Nowadays no one has the ability to conduct large scale war. Its not like the old days where a few nations could reach out and swat another nation. Its not even to the point where a nation can maintain internal coherence. Large governments have collapsed. This includes the Republic of Columbia which is gone. The Interstates are toast, but Rt. 66 and its brethren survived the Big Blast as the Nuke war is called. Due to all the nukes that got blown up high in the atmosphere by Reagan's Rockets, there are really, really beautiful sunsets. Its a much more broken apart society with the only major governmental force that at all held together in the US being the FCC, the Federal Comm Council as its now called, or more colloquially, the CommCoo although FCC shock troopers consider that rude, and usually engage in a little amateur dentistry if they hear it. The FCC restricts itself to controlling radio stations because they lack the power to really put things back together again. As a strategy, they would rather focus on being utterly dominant in the single most important area of power, and ignore the rest. The rest of the world is worse...completely fallen apart at best, and gone back to Stone Age tech and cannibalism at worst. Any ambition to go and save the world is long gone. Saving one's own life and property is more important, and if you're really ambitious, you might think about saving your neighborhood, or joining one of the Music Societies which is where the socially active who want to move, and the idealists who want to fix society go. Nowadays technology is stuck below the computer age: the technology bias is 11@2. The Magic Bias is 3@2. The Psionic Bias is 3@2. The Body bias is 12@9 and dropping as some of the odd creatures like butterflies that supported the high Bod bias by their unusual Body skills are now dead, extinct, kaput. The primary Music Societies are as follows: 1. Sixties Rock and Roll: A. Rivals: Extreme. The Sixties feel disappointed in Extreme which branched off from them some time ago. They try to win them back to the fold by charm and by cannon. Such conflicts are as if a father had a son who opened a competing business in the same field. Usually contacts between these two groups start out amicably, but escalate to violence as opposing expectations of how the other should behave collide. B. Weapons: C. Special Skills: 1. Defensive Tactics: This is a Psi-based skill used by small combat units termed ‘bands’ which helps them choose the best way to defend an area. 2. Strategic Defensive Generalship: This is a skill used by several of the best ‘superstar managers’ aka generals in the Rock High Command. The RHC is known for its brilliant defensive stands. Any time you hear about a fight with fifty casualties on one side, and a thousand on the other, its almost certain that someone was fooled into attacking the Rockers. 3. Military Engineering is a Psi-based skill used in building bridges, and in this case mostly forts and redoubts, and channeling structures to control the flow of battle to the advantage of the defender. Most of the old Corp of Engineers went to Rock, and those that didn’t found their skills not properly appreciated by their groups. The end result is that Rock has the best ‘groupies corp’ in the world. D. Capital: Memphis is the Divided City shared by Jazz and by Rock. Graceland is the Capital Building and center point of Rock’s control. From here, the current King of Rock and Roll reigns. E. Mindset: They have a large territory stretching deep into the South, and the Midwest, and over the Rockies and into Arizona with a small pod up in the Northeast around New York City. In total land territory, they are the second largest of the Music Societies behind Country, and in listeners they are the second largest behind Praise and Worship which helps confirm them in their basic defensive stance. They try to avoid picking fights except with the Extreme. They are very good about Standing their Ground. Once dug in, they are very hard to get out. 2. Extreme: A. Rivals: Rock is their disappointed and over-controlling father who in addition is extremely boring. They have had many bitter fights. Extremists divide between wanting to 1) Make them leave us alone like they do everyone else. 2) Destroy them, and their precious Graceland with fire. 3) Take them over, and redirect that wasted energy. B. Weapons: C. Special Skills: 1. Rappelling--This is a Bod based skill. 2. Stunt Driving--This is a Bod based or a Tech based skill depending on the driver’s mental orientation. 3. HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) Skydiving--This is a Bod based skill. 4. Stealth--This is a Bod based skill. D. Capital: Vail Colorado used to be the city of Vail in the state of Colorado, but states are done with in these new Music days. A cry ‘Vail!’ which is always delivered with verve and enthusiasm and challenge is the greeting call between Extremists. E. Mindset: The Extremists is seeking to create a new, better human who is faster, stronger, and braver. They do not seek this through bionics (although they don’t discriminate against those who need this, but they discriminate against those who use this without need), or through drugs. And they need a soundtrack for the glorious bravery and insane skill that is meant to be their life. They tend to elevate those of their ilk who achieve greatness to saint status. Thus ‘Saint Vin Diesel’, and ‘Saint Evil Knievel’ are in their pantheon of heroes as early proto-Extremists. Most of the Special Forces wound up in the Extremists although a fair number made it to Country and Praise/Worship. 3. One-Hit Wonders: A. Rivals: They try to have no rivals. B. Weapons: They are extremely eccletic being able to use the weapons and magic skills of any group. In addition, they have some psionic skills of their own. C. Special Skills: 1. Mediation--Some of the best mediators in the world work for the 1H or the Wonders as they are often called. They are very good at finding common ground between people, and helping to reach productive agreements. One of their techniques is to charge a vast sum of money from both sides. If both sides agree that it is a good agreement, then both sides get ninety percent of their money back. If not, then the Mediators keep it. 2. Stage Dressing--Again, some very good stage dressers who can turn a stage from a Country Hoe-down to a dirty alley suited for Rappers in a minute flat work for the Wonders. 3. Empathy--The 1H tend to be able to read the real emotions of people. One common saying is “Never, ever gamble in Los Angeles because a bunch of angels did, and that’s how the place became Lost Angeles.” D. Capital: Los Angeles. People come from all over the world seeking to become great. Many pay any price for just a touch of greatness, receive it, and find its not worth the price. Others have only one good song in them, but it’s a very good song, indeed. Some keep trying, and others go on to other things. But all of them are One-Hit Wonders. E. Mindset: If people will put aside their hatreds and fears, a way can be found to work things out. Just a little trust, a little honesty, and things will get better which will lay the groundwork for a little more trust. Sometimes they are too naïve for words, and sometimes that is an act. They are well aware that some people ‘need killing’, and they have people who can do that very well. But they think most people can be rescued, and that a little lie about how naïve they are is in a good cause. And they don’t mind lying in a good cause. They work closely with Praise and Worship which is trying to reach out to everyone in a similar way. One issue they have with Praise and Worship is how the P&W folks treat the Death Metalists. They want the P&W folks to hold themselves defenseless to the Death Metalists in hope that this show of defenselessness and love will move the hearts of the Death Metalists. Another reason why they don’t work closer with them is that both sides are infiltrated by secret agents bent on causing trouble between the groups. 4. Classical A. Rivals: They divide their time between hating everyone in a quiet refined way. B. Weapons: C. Special Skills: D. Capital: New York City. E. Mindset: 5. The House of Jazz which is ruled by the legendary Bluesman although some say he is merely a figurehead for the Jazz and Blues Council. A. Rivals: Classical and Rap are both rivals. The first for the technical virtuosity shown which pleases some people who think that a turn to a Technocracy would save the world, and the second group competes to be the Genuine Voice of the People’s Pain B. Weapons: C. Special Skills: 1. Spell of Confusion is cast on one opponent. 2. Eerie Synchronicity allows a group of Jazzmen to attack their opponents as if they were one man. This is a Body skill. 3. The Ole Black Magic inspires strong lust in a target. This is a Body skill. 4. Open a Door into the Nevernever allows the opening of a pre-existing magic gate into the Nevernever where magic creatures live. These creatures cannot stand the touch of sunlight, or too much materialist based or spiritual based logic. They thrive on irrationality and whimsy. D. Capital: Jazz shares Memphis with Rock, but it shares Beale Street with no one. It is here, in one or the other of the fabulous night clubs that line this street that the Jazz and Blues Council meets. Jazz is not Blues, but Jazz owns the Blues as a subset of its power (although some Bluesmen dislike this, and the current leader of the Jazz is actually a Bluesman which bespeaks complicated, back room politics at its finest). E. Mindset: Jazz started as the music of poor people, and of the Blacks, and of New Orleans. Indeed there is a substantial segment of its supporters who would like to move the capital to New Orleans, and ‘turn back the tide to the old days’. But it became the music of contemplative musicians of uncanny skill, and odd turns of thought that led them places that the common man had difficulty following them too. And thus it became the music of white music professors. It still has its roots, but they are thinner and weaker than they were. It claims to be the music for all. It provides for the poor, and for the wise it claims. 6. Praise and Worship A. Rivals: Death Metal is their rival. They honestly don’t want to fight them, but at the same time, they see the Dmers as determined to destroy everything they can lay their hands on. Plus the Dmer tendency to wear shirts proclaiming that “I worship the Prince of Darkness” or “Murder is my Hobby. Genocide is my sport. My job is Skateboarding.” does tend to be off-putting. B. Weapons: 1. Longsword. 2. Pump Shotgun. C. Special Skills: 1. The Sword of the Spirit has a more mundane metaphor for this group. This group has the best hand-to-hand combatants of any group. Such Swordsmen are also trained in singing, and witnessing to make them swordsmen of the heart as well. 2. Sword of the Spirit: It is rumored that some miracles have been observed where Swordsmen chopped through solid steel with a blade that was undamaged. This is a Magical skill. 3. Laying on of oil: This is a healing technique to help the almost dying to recover mildly. It is a Magical bias technique. D. Capital: The Dual Capitals of Salt Lake City and Atlanta hold the affection of this group. In one year SLC holds the capital, and in the next Atlanta. The smoothness and equanimity of the transference of power is one of the great propaganda points of the Praise and Worship crowd. They can point out that they run a vast group with smoothness, and polite deference which does not break out into fistfights, and should they not be able to run the nation that way? E. Mindset: “The closer everyone gets to God, the closer they get to each other.” People are naturally scum, or sinners. But God and his agent, human government, and one’s peers can help the person who receives His grace to be closer to their original state before the Fall of Humanity into wretchedness. Life is pretty good. The world is beautiful. Everyone ought to be grateful for every day. The strategy of making a PW that goes with each group (that is a PW Country, a PW Classics, a PW Jazz) is based on the idea that if certain fundamentals of reality are accepted, then the rest can be negotiated. They hold this was the nature of the nation before the Big Blast. 7. Death Metal: A. Rivals: They hate Praise and Worship considering them a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites who should be hated because they seem to enjoy life when everyone knows life is terrible. They also have the nerve to claim they have answers which infuriates the Dmer, but they don’t have all the answers which also infuriated the Dmers as well. B. Weapons: 1. They are trying to build a nuclear weapon, but haven’t yet succeeded. 2. They do own nerve gas (sarin) in artillery shells, and mustard gas that they have made. 3. They have a fleet of old B-52 bombers armed JDAMs and MOABS to drop on their enemies. These bombers are also equipped with very loud loudspeakers which play Death Metal at high volume. C. Special Skills: 1. Rig High Explosives--Tech skill 1@5 2. Spot Weakness in Tech Structure--Tech skill 1@3. This allows the user to find the weak point in some complicated technical system like a car motor or an oil refinery in order to sabotage it. D. Capital: They have no capital being a set of underground cells. They do have various abandoned ghost towns they take over for a while to use as bases for their fleet. They prefer one’s with morbid names like “Tombstone”. E. Mindset: Some of the Dmers actively worship the Powers of Darkness. Others worship the Norse gods as incarnations of strength. Still others, and that the vast majority, do not worship anything or anyone despite saying otherwise on their t-shirts as they are skeptical materialists. The glass is not only half-empty, the water is an illusion, and we’re all so messed up that screaming and burning everything down is a normal reaction. Classics have got money and so they’re useful for now, and the Rappers have the pain but they want to fix things (losers!), and the Country are a bunch of bucktoothed morons dipping snuff, and the Praise people are purely evil. Praise worships a God who is not there, and if he was, He would be evil, and I hate Him is the rant of the Death Metalist. Logic is not a Dmers strong suit. The Extremists are a bunch of arrogant jerks with their washboard abs, and perfect tans--we hate them too. 8. Country A. Rivals: Rap. B. Weapons: C. Special Skills: D. Capital: Nashville is the capital. The Grand Ol’ Opryhouse is the capital building. E. Mindset: They are the most populist of the song types. At one time Jazz might have laid claim to that distinction, but its gone upmarket. The concerns of ordinary people with ordinary emotions which are sometimes incoherent, and sometimes bittersweet are mildly idealized unlike the other musics which are about people aspiring to be something they are not, or so the country guy sees it. Rock claims to be the people’s music, but its really the young, college guy’s music, and Jazz is for intellectuals and druggies, and Rap is for self-aggrandizing wannabees, and Classic is for snobs who never worked hard a day in their life, and Praise is for plaster saints. Country is for ordinary people, and ordinary people are what will save the world because they always are even though other folk claim the credit. 9. Rap A. Rivals: Country is their chief rival. Country keeps trying to go north through the Midwest, and it meets Rap going south. But they don’t much like Classics either which they tend to identify with The Man. B. Weapons: C. Special Skills: 1. Overawe--The rapper is able to by a recitation of his talents and achievements cause his opponents to need to make a simple difficulty check any time they act against him for the next RS/5 minutes. 2. Identify Fellow: A rapper is able to ask another rapper who he is, and receive a recitation, and then determine if the new guy is ‘authentic’ or a traitor or a spy. This is a psi skill. D. Capital: Detroit, Michigan is the capital. The Murder Capital of the World its called. Its more dangerous than some gulags. E. Mindset: Rap is about giving a voice to the voiceless, about finding a way for the helpless to organize, about style in the STYLE sense. Its about being big, and brave, and letting it all hang out in a world gone cold and cautious what with the near brush with total disaster. Its about fighting the forces of The Man who want to put you in line, use you, abuse you, and then spit you out, and blame you for their abuse. Rap is about hitting the LOUD button. Classics is about deifying the oppressors, and Country is about whiny boys, and Death Metal are just freaks, and the Praise guys mean well but its easy to be happy when you got everything handed to you, and Jazz has sold out with its focus on technical virtuosity instead of speaking to the People’s pain. JohnA1nut on "Music Wars Beta" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-beta/page/3#post-3792 Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:22:19 +0000 JohnA1nut 3792@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Eric told me to go digging for these, so I did. (BTT Back To Top) I don't know what else to do with beta, but maybe Eric will help. JohnA1nut on "Music Wars Beta" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-beta/page/3#post-3791 Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:20:27 +0000 JohnA1nut 3791@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ BTT JohnA1nut on "Music Wars" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars/page/3#post-3789 Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:18:05 +0000 JohnA1nut 3789@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ BTT JohnA1nut on "Techno Music" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/techno-music#post-3788 Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:17:03 +0000 JohnA1nut 3788@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ First piece JohnA1nut on "Music Wars Beta" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-beta/page/3#post-2967 Thu, 27 Dec 2007 04:42:57 +0000 JohnA1nut 2967@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Guys, what's going on with this? I have no clue how to write this up, so I was kind of hoping that Scott or Eric could do it. Is anyone still working on Music Wars Beta? I honestly don't know what else to do. WilliamTWodium on "Techno Music" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/techno-music#post-2761 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:23:52 +0000 WilliamTWodium 2761@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ You do raise a good point, John. We ought to consider back-writing Techno into the Alpha scenario for consistency. To answer your earlier question, I think it was my idea. Originally I wanted to add them in to involve them so that the alien element of The Day would be reflected in the skill sets - just like the Horror from Beyond would be represented in Death Metal, or mutation from nuclear energies would be represented in Extreme. I didn't want the present to be all about the past, but I wanted the mark of the past to be there if you looked for it. That's why we started on it, anyway. Now I think we're working on it for the reasons MJ and O'Sevens said. JohnA1nut on "Techno Music" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/techno-music#post-2759 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:45:55 +0000 JohnA1nut 2759@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ I wasn't saying we shouldn't include techno, just wondering why we were including it, that's all. johnosevens on "Techno Music" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/techno-music#post-2757 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:35:49 +0000 johnosevens 2757@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ A1Nut - I like the idea of including Techno as a sort of mythic faction. everybody sort of knows they're out there, but nobody really cares - some people may not believe they're even real, and they don't factor into global politics much. Wodium - Do you expect operation of the tech device to be easier? Yes, significantly. Could a Listener operate a device of which he previously had no knowledge? Not one with which he had no knowledge at all, no. Do you perceive any other benefits resulting from the altered relationship between skilled user and tech device? No - just a massive boost to his skills for the purpose of using that device. It reacts to him as though it were part of him, or, taken another way, it adds a level to the user's skill. M. J. Young on "Techno Music" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/techno-music#post-2745 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:13:17 +0000 M. J. Young 2745@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Not my call, of course, but there's something very different and distinct about techno--it is in some ways more different from the other styles than they are from each other (seriously, as one who has attended worship service led by Resurrection Band, I find very little difference between Heavy Metal and Praise & Worship; and my wife has been an Eagles fan, which I keep telling her is country and she hates country and insists it's rock). It makes for a unique approach to magic within the total package. Having something that different helps make it seem more like each is distinct. It's a good call, I think. --M. J. Young JohnA1nut on "Techno Music" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/techno-music#post-2743 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:40:13 +0000 JohnA1nut 2743@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Ya know, I hate to rain on the parade, but why are we even using techno in this version of it? The Alpha version doesn't have techno, so why should the Beta world? Who's idea was it anyway? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad for all the creativity that has gone into it, but it just makes me wonder why we are doing that. Thoughts? WilliamTWodium on "Techno Music" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/techno-music#post-2742 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:53:29 +0000 WilliamTWodium 2742@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ . . . whereas I'll only make comments about what that other spell could be. I think we've got some fascinating possibilities. First, consider that it may be not a spell at all. It's not unheard of for particularly potent psionic skills to require an aid to concentration - a crystal ball to stare into, perhaps, or the thrum and shuffle of tarot cards in one's hands. This track could function in the same way, particularly since a pre-recording is vastly preferable to performing it during skill use. If it's psionic, we're probably looking at a level one telepathy variant (albeit a high-intensity one, along the lines of possession) or a P5@10 Non-Physicality (with elements of P5@8 Non-Animate Linking). Even if it is magic, it still may not be a spell. What if the music is special kind of intangible magical device, something along the lines of a reusable digital scroll? This would make the original recording process a 15@ Item Creation (exactly which skill would depend on how the "item" is activated and the nature of its effect's duration), but the actual execution of "Table Apparatus" would be a M1@ Use Magic Device. This is an attractive option because it allows a powerful effect to be contained in a more user-friendly package. It also fills out some of the flavor of the Techno faction: already we can picture highly skilled Technicians sequestered in basements that thrum with electric equipment, tirelessly crafting new mixes for use by their Listeners in the field . . . Then again, it could be a spell after all, with the pre-composed and canned performance as a mere material component. In this way, it's no different from a Web spell that requires the magician to have a bit of netting already prepared to toss at his targets. It seems a potent effect for such a quick casting, however, even given the time and resources involved in composing the piece and the equipment required for playing it. Of course, knowing exactly what benefits you expect the user to derive from the skill may facilitate a decision. Do you expect operation of the tech device to be easier? Could a Listener operate a device of which he previously had no knowledge? Do you perceive any other benefits resulting from the altered relationship between skilled user and tech device? M. J. Young on "Techno Music" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/techno-music#post-2726 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:45:32 +0000 M. J. Young 2726@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ If I used smiley icons, there would be one here. In three of my as yet unpublished novels, Merlin appears. At one point one of the character notes, internally, that Merlin only speaks when he actually has something to say, which might be a significant contributor to his ability to appear wise at all times--if he doesn't have something wise to say, he just doesn't say anything at all. I'd like to think that I'm better than that, but I do note that I made no comments on what the other spell was.... --M. J. Young johnosevens on "Music Wars Beta" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-beta/page/3#post-2707 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:31:07 +0000 johnosevens 2707@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ It works just as well either way, MJ. Scott - That works fine for me, just so long as you include the stipulation that they don't work one without the other. johnosevens on "Techno Music" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/techno-music#post-2706 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:29:43 +0000 johnosevens 2706@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ MJ is good at this nail-on-the-head thing... M. J. Young on "Music Wars Beta" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/music-wars-beta/page/3#post-2696 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:41:46 +0000 M. J. Young 2696@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Scott, I think you posted that to the wrong thread? --M. J. Young