Tweedle

Re: Designing reasonable aliens I have a copy on my PC that I can send you (117 kb). Send me an e-mail and its yours.

Re: Using nanotech in a campaign Michael, a quick (and belated!) update. The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology has an article on grey goo - Grey Goo Is a Small Issue - that might reassure you somewhat. (The CRN website in general is well worth browsing.)

Re: Usning nanotech in a campaign Michael, if you're stuck for sources of inspiration, the Nanotechnology in Science Fiction site has compiled a pretty comprehensive list of SF novels that feature nanotech in some way; the site owner even grades the novels according to the degree to which nanotech features in each book. The Atlantis Rising sourcebook for the Conspiracy X RPG features a catalogue of nanotech devices, and is worth having a look at. I'd also suggest you have a peek at GURPS Ultra-Tech 2 and GURPS Bio-Tech. I'd also highly recommend these pop sci works: Unbounding the Future: The Nanotechnology Revolution Eric Drexler, Chris Peterson, Gayle Pergamit Nanotechnology: Molecular Speculations on Global Abundance BC Crandall Hacking Matter: Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, and the Infinite Weirdness of Programmable Atoms Wil McCarthy Nanofuture: What's Next for Nanotechnology J. Storrs Hall The complete text of Drexler's seminal Engines of Creation can be accessed free at The Foresight Institute

Re: Firearm Muzzle Energy Thanks gang for your intelligent analyses and suggestions.

Can anyone point me to a comprehensive web-based resource that lists the muzzle energies of a variety of firearm types? Many thanks.

Re: Mood Music How about these: Hitman Contracts The Hitcher Ghost in the Shell Run Lola Run Blade Runner

Re: Massive engineering projects?

Yes, but I would hesitate to allow this, as to me it seems rather generous for the cost involved.

That seems fair. Thanks Bartman.

That's correct, but those two CSLs can also be used to add up to +2 to a character's OCV or DCV, or +1 to both simultaneously. I'm interested in the cost of an ability that is limited to adding +1 DC to any of a character's attacks.

How much do you think it should cost to purchase an ability that adds +1 DC to all of a character's attacks? If possible, could you illustrate how you arrived at the figure you suggest? Many thanks.

There's a nice example of a similar effect in the science-fiction noir film Dark City (1998).

Unfortunately, there is at the moment no evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial life. Any discussion about the latter must remain for the time being speculative and inconclusive. While looking at pictures such as the Hubble Deep Field Image might fill one with a profound sense of awe, they do not provide any extra evidential weight to pro-ET arguments.

Two titles - though both are out of print - spring to mind: ICE's Cyberspace RPG. Set in 2090 San Francisco. Has a very dark, high-tech feel to it. Includes detailed descriptions of contemporary technologies, weapons, lifestyles, city locations, and a variety of megacorps and sprawlgangs. A black and white map of a particular chunk of the city is included. R. Talsorian's Night City supplement for the Cyberpunk 2020 RPG. This product details an entire fictional cyberpunk city - Night City - located on the West Coast of the USA. Comes complete with maps and street by street locations of the city's inhabitants, major players, and assorted lowlights.

Lord Mhoram, have you heard of the Deathstalker series of books by British author Simon R. Green? The series is set in a pulp-SF space opera type of universe, very much in the vein of the Star Wars films, but with lots of shades-of-grey scoundrels and liberal doses of sarcastic humour. The characters in the series use energy weapons which require a number of minutes to recharge between each shot; this has necessitated the revival of hand-to-hand combat with swords, axes and other low-tech implements of mayhem, as combatants initially discharge their energy weapons and then wade into hand-to-hand combat.