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11 |
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12 Wind in the Flowers: Re-inventing a Game |
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13 |
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14 |
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15 Dynamic Nobilis |
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16 |
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17 *R. Sean Borgstrom* |
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18 February 20, 2002 |
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19 |
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20 James Wallis requested that I help kick off the new *Nobilis* line by |
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21 creating live-action rules. These should appear in the first 2002 |
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22 supplement. Right now, we call these rules *Dynamic Nobilis*. They may |
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23 see print as *Nobilis LARP* or *Live-Action Nobilis*. This decision |
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24 boils down to "pretentious and different" or "boring, awkward, and |
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25 clear". I am a pretentious person. I adore clarity. I admit to indecision. |
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26 |
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27 To translate *Nobilis* into a live-action context, I had to remove the |
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28 system's dependence on the Hollyhock God -- the person running the game. |
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29 Running *Nobilis* involves a fair number of judgment calls. To allow |
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30 players to resolve disputes and use their abilities without an HG on |
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31 hand required removing most of these judgment calls from the game. |
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32 |
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33 One of the major judgment calls comes when one player uses a low-level |
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34 effect to indirectly block a high-level effect. One character strikes |
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35 another with lightning. Rather than dodge, that character transforms |
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36 themselves to rubber -- a substance lightning spirits find too |
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37 distasteful to maul. The first player argues that divinely cast |
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38 lightning should damage other characters regardless of their material |
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39 composition. The second player argues that rubber is not conductive, and |
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40 would at most suffer a minor wound. The HG can't arbitrate this if |
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41 they're not there. |
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42 |
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43 Replacing the notion of arbitration, therefore, Dynamic Nobilis uses the |
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44 concept of degrees of success and failure. Turning to rubber does not |
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45 negate the attack, nor is it useless; rather, because of the |
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46 transformation, the attack succeeds to a smaller degree. Instead of the |
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47 damage associated with a major success, the lightning induces the damage |
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48 associated with a minor success. Conflict resolution then passes this |
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49 result normally to the damage system. |
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50 |
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51 The effect of a miracle ranges from /misery/ -- the character cannot |
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52 even begin to accomplish their desire -- to /triumph/, a total and |
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53 absolute success. Environmental factors, Gifts, and miscellaneous |
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54 miracles affect this result in a straightforward and standardized |
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55 manner. Since this is a deterministic system, players that think about |
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56 the rules hardly ever suffer /misery/. They can calculate before |
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57 attempting an action whether they would fail. This works out in the end. |
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58 The characters are half divine and generally certain of their abilities |
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59 in the tabletop system as well. |
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60 |
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61 Having defined the basic system, I moved on to converting individual |
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62 abilities into this system. This is harder than it sounds, because |
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63 *Nobilis* miracles are not single-purpose abilities. Each type of |
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64 miracle has thousands of distinct applications. The main rules define, |
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65 for example, two forms of "creation miracle"; these suffice to create |
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66 cars, mountains, fire, storms, heat, cities, people, new species, and |
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67 radio signals. A rigorous system for creation miracles that does not |
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68 require arbitration was in itself a challenge -- and this was only one |
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69 miracle type. |
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70 |
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71 Providing a solid conversion of miraculous abilities quickly became the |
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72 core of the Dynamic Nobilis project. I felt that this component of the |
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73 system deserved great effort, as it offered an alluring possibility. A |
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74 high-quality system for exactly defining miraculous effects would help |
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75 /tabletop/ Hollyhock Gods arbitrate the use of miracles. (Incidentally, |
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76 this is the first time the phrase "tabletop Hollyhock Gods" has appeared |
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77 in the English language.) I wanted Dynamic Nobilis to provide value to |
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78 readers, whether or not they ever stood up to play a live-action |
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79 *Nobilis* game. |
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80 |
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81 I'm not sure I have anything to say about the individual miracle |
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82 conversions. Rather, they represent a methodical exploration of the |
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83 principles underlying the examples in the original rules. For example, |
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84 splashing someone with created water and burning them with created fire |
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85 both use the same miracle -- a lesser creation miracle. One miracle is |
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86 harmful; the other makes one wet. To distinguish these, one must |
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87 recognize that /creating/ fire and /burning someone/ with that fire are |
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88 conceptually separate actions, even if they occur in the same instant. |
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89 |
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90 Thus, players resolve this use of fire or water as two miracles in a |
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91 row. First, they verify that the creation of fire or water succeeds. If |
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92 it succeeds, they then determine the effect of the attack. Here, in this |
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93 second phase, using a deadly weapon like fire increases the attacker's |
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94 level of success -- making it more likely they will do meaningful |
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95 damage. If not intended as a weapon, the water does no damage at all. If |
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96 the watermaker tries to spray their victim hard and leave bruises, it's |
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97 still less effective than fire. |
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98 |
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99 In addition to this general project, designed to make life easier for |
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100 both tabletop and live-action groups, certain live-action issues |
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101 required specific attention. In particular, *Nobilis* effects have a |
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102 high communication overhead. If someone fills a region with white mice |
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103 and leaves, other characters should not walk in a few minutes later and |
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104 have a picnic. If someone shoots down the sun, other characters should |
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105 not lie around elsewhere sunbathing. Making a live-action game with |
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106 *Nobilis'* power level work meant finding ways to spread information |
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107 about the uses of characters' powers. |
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108 |
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109 Dynamic Nobilis makes heavy use of /region clipboards/. I expect other |
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110 people have come up with this idea before. Region clipboards sit on a |
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111 table in the various areas of the LARP. People write important things on |
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112 these clipboards, such as "A miracle filled this region with weasels" or |
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113 "the mortals in this museum have turned into statues." This allows |
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114 literate players to quickly identify the prevailing conditions. |
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115 |
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116 /Lazy notification/ is a more unusual device. The concept is simple. |
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117 Since time in the setting runs on mythic rather than causal lines, we |
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118 make no great sacrifices to ensure that events happen in the proper |
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119 order. Suppose that someone does something that affects the whole game |
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120 -- turns day into night or floods the setting with seawater. This |
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121 happens "instantly" in the setting, but this sense of instantaneity is |
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122 not scientific. |
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123 |
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124 Basically, the event reaches each region of the game just before the |
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125 first player character or NPC that knows about the event enters the |
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126 region. The player comes into the room, notifies other players, writes |
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127 the information on the region clipboard, and then permits their |
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128 character to arrive. |
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129 |
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130 This temporal structure can yield some odd events -- miraculous night |
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131 might last for hours for one character and minutes for another -- but |
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132 that's what you'd expect in a mythic universe. True paradoxes hardly |
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133 ever happen, and one never has to suspend game play to go tell people |
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134 about an event. Lazy notification makes a lot of sense in the setting, |
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135 but I'll save the details of the in-character justification for another |
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136 forum. |
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137 |
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138 It is my hope that, through these devices and rules, Dynamic Nobilis |
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139 allows fun live-action play at the power level and power flexibility |
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140 found in *Nobilis*. R. Sean |
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141 |
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142 |
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143 What do you think? <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88> |
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144 |
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145 Go to forum! <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88> |
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146 Go to Top <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88> | New Topic |
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147 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/post.php?f=88> | View Threads |
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148 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88&collapse=0> | Search |
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149 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/search.php?f=88> |
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150 |
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151 Topics Author Date Latest Reply |
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152 James and the Small Caps |
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153 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=81&t=81> (2) new Kibo |
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154 08-20-2002 16:29 02-10-2003 01:23 new |
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155 Art <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=77&t=77> (1) new Lxndr |
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156 04-26-2002 07:36 04-26-2002 07:36 new |
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157 The Original Nobilis Club |
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158 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=76&t=76> (3) new Bret Gillan |
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159 04-17-2002 11:28 03-17-2003 17:48 new |
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160 Questions & Thoughts |
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161 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=64&t=64> (3) new Pyske |
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162 03-20-2002 18:31 05-01-2003 13:03 new |
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163 Noble Buddhism? |
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164 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=61&t=61> (9) new Tlaloc |
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165 03-20-2002 12:17 12-10-2004 01:20 new |
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166 Noble Suicide <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=58&t=58> (9) new |
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167 Eric Christian Berg 03-20-2002 07:43 01-18-2005 16:27 new |
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168 Art Notes <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=54&t=54> (4) new R. |
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169 Sean Borgstrom 03-14-2002 16:31 03-21-2002 03:44 new |
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170 Ack...you just lost my sale |
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171 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=45&t=45> (10) new SteveD |
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172 03-14-2002 04:06 03-15-2002 06:29 new |
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173 Onomastikon working URL |
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174 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=36&t=36> (4) new Jorge |
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175 Hernández 03-06-2002 12:51 08-20-2002 16:10 new |
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176 Why do angels change names ? |
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177 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=33&t=33> (10) new philippe |
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178 tromeur 03-06-2002 10:13 12-10-2004 01:34 new |
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179 R. Sean, some examples? |
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180 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=32&t=32> (3) new Arref |
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181 03-05-2002 08:17 03-13-2002 20:28 new |
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182 Sounds great, BUT... |
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183 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=28&t=28> (2) new Kane |
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184 02-27-2002 16:43 02-27-2002 17:30 new |
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185 Sort of backwards? |
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186 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=21&t=21> (8) new Eric Finley |
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187 02-20-2002 14:25 02-28-2002 09:35 new |
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188 Programmer nature slips out! |
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189 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=20&t=20> (2) new Sean |
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190 McCarthy 02-20-2002 13:18 02-21-2002 10:30 new |
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191 Object Lesson Damage |
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192 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=15&t=15> (1) new Darren |
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193 Miguez 02-13-2002 12:45 02-13-2002 12:45 new |
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194 How about this? |
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195 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=12&t=12> (2) new Kristian |
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196 Lund 02-13-2002 11:30 02-14-2002 01:17 new |
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197 Now, this was strange! |
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198 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=9&t=9> (7) new access.denied |
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199 02-13-2002 07:44 02-16-2002 21:44 new |
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200 Briefs on the other two? |
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201 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=5&t=5> (5) new Eric Finley |
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202 01-31-2002 18:39 02-13-2002 10:36 new |
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203 Forum now works <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=4&t=4> (1) new |
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204 Sandy Antunes 01-31-2002 17:36 01-31-2002 17:36 new |
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205 limited series <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=1&t=1> (2) new |
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206 Sandy Antunes 01-21-2002 17:41 01-31-2002 17:36 new |
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207 |
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208 Go to Top <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88> | New Topic |
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209 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/post.php?f=88> | View Threads |
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210 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88&collapse=0> | Search |
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211 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/search.php?f=88> |
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212 |
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213 Newer Messages |
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214 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88&t=81&a=1&> | Older Messages |
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215 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88&t=1&a=2&> |
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216 |
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217 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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218 |
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219 * Editing, Development, and Production |
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220 </news+reviews/columns/wind27mar02.html> |
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221 March 27, 2002 |
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222 * Affiliations </news+reviews/columns/wind20mar02.html> |
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223 March 20, 2002 |
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224 * How to be a Hollyhock God </news+reviews/columns/wind13mar02.html> |
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225 March 13, 2002 |
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226 * Naming Conventions </news+reviews/columns/wind06mar02.html> |
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227 March 6, 2002 |
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228 * Art Notes </news+reviews/columns/wind27feb02.html> |
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229 February 27, 2002 |
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230 * Dynamic Nobilis </news+reviews/columns/wind20feb02.html> |
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231 February 20, 2002 |
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232 * Systems Change </news+reviews/columns/wind13feb02.html> |
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233 February 13, 2002 |
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234 * Treachery </news+reviews/columns/wind06feb02.html> |
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235 February 6, 2002 |
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236 * The Emperor to Come </news+reviews/columns/wind31jan02.html> |
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237 January 31, 2002 |
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238 * The Changing of the Guard </news+reviews/columns/wind21jan02.html> |
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239 January 21, 2002 |
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240 |
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241 |
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242 Other columns </news+reviews/columns.html> at RPGnet |
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243 |
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